Prime Minister

Overseas Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister, what value and proportion of cross-departmental spending on official development assistance overseen by the National Security Council was subject to the Independent Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

Mr David Cameron: Individual NSC departments are responsible and accountable for their own spending on Official Development Assistance through cross-Government funds. The National Security Council provides strategic oversight and direction.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to (a) claimants of universal credit while the benefit is assessed and dispatched and (b) people becoming unemployed from low-paid and temporary jobs who have no redundancy payments or other income.

Priti Patel: Advance payments of up to 50% of their Universal Credit award are available to all new Universal Credit claimants who are in financial need.

Employment and Support Allowance: Mental Health

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group on the mental health of those affected.

Priti Patel: We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the welfare measures in the Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment was published on 20 July last year.

Employment and Support Allowance: Disability

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many disabled people will move into work as a result of changes to the employment and allowance work-related activity group; and what research he has conducted into the effects of those changes.

Priti Patel: The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Bill on 20th July last year. Whilst the policy is intended to provide the right incentives to help individuals back into work, it is not possible to quantify based on behavioral changes which are difficult to assess.

Employment and Support Allowance: Halifax

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Halifax constituency will be affected by changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group.

Priti Patel: Forecasts for Employment and Support Allowance are made only at the national level. As such, the information requested is not available.

Employment and Support Allowance: Disability

Victoria Borwick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support disabled people affected by the changes to employment and support allowance work-related activity group.

Priti Patel: We are providing new funding for additional practical support for claimants with limited capability for work from April 2017, when the removal of the work-related activity component will come into effect, rising from £60 million in 2017/18 to £100 million a year in 2020/21. In addition to this, we also plan to provide additional funding of £15 million in 2017/18 to increase the local Jobcentre Flexible Support Fund.

Universal Credit: Prisoners

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is possible for prisoners to start their universal credit application so that it is processed and ready to be applied when they are released.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are special procedures for universal credit applications for prisoners with mental health issues.

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the target timescale is for people leaving prison from application to receipt for universal credit; and how many and what proportion of applications take longer than that timescale.

Priti Patel: Prisoners are supported and advised whilst in prison on which benefits they can claim and how to make a claim and we are developing arrangements to enable them to make advance claims to Universal Credit. Appropriate support measures for prison leavers with mental health issues will be considered following the initial claim interview. Universal Credit is assessed and paid calendar monthly in arrears. Prison leavers will receive payment within the timescale of 5 weeks from the date of claim. Prison leavers who are in financial need can apply for an advance payment of up to 50% of their total Universal Credit award following their initial interview. The information requested in relation to the timescales for applications is not readily available for publication. To quality assure this information according to the standards of the UK Statistics Authority would incur disproportionate costs.

Universal Credit: Temporary Employment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review entitlement to universal credit of people whose wages are paid two weeks in arrears after their temporary employment contract has ended.

Priti Patel: Universal Credit takes earnings into account in a manner that is fair and simple to understand. Earnings are taken into account in the assessment period in which they are received and the Universal Credit award adjusted accordingly. We have no plans to change this policy. Claimants have access to help and support from the first day they make a claim to Universal Credit, regardless of when earnings are received.

Social Security Benefits: Personal Injury

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21498, on social security benefits: personal injury, whether the estimated effect of the proposed changes on social security recoupment from injuries other than whiplash are likely to be caught by the changes.

Justin Tomlinson: DWP officials are continuing to work with the Ministry of Justice to assess the potential impact of the proposed changes. The government will consult on these measures which will be accompanied by an impact assessment that will cover claims for compensation which are recoverable under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997.

Personal Independence Payment: Assessments

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account is taken when assessing people for personal independence payments of the need for aids and appliances as a proxy of the condition of the person being assessed.

Justin Tomlinson: The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied. Section 3.2 ‘Applying the criteria’ (page 75) explains how to assess a person who is reliant on aids and appliances to complete an activity. This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

Home Office

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests were made to her Department for a change of conditions of leave lifting the condition of no recourse to public funds in financial years (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: The data requested is not available for each of the years requested and can only be provided from December 2014. The number of submitted applications for a change of conditions to allow recourse to public funds between December 2014 and 30 September 2015 is as follows:PeriodNumber of ApplicationsDecember 2014 – March 2015930April 2015 – September 20151660This response represents the closest reply that can be provided within the constraints of our data reporting system.The data provided is considered Management Information and is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of National Statistics.

Immigration

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests were made to her Department for a change of conditions of leave were approved in lifting the no recourse to public funds condition to the applicants conditions of leave in financial years (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

James Brokenshire: The data requested is not available for each of the years requested and can only be provided from December 2014. The number of granted applications for a change of conditions to allow recourse to public funds between December 2014 and 30 September 2015 is as follows:PeriodNumber of Granted ApplicationsDecember 2014 – March 2015235April 2015 – September 2015680This response represents the closest reply that can be provided within the constraints of our data reporting system.The data provided is considered Management Information and is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of National Statistics.

Terrorism: Social Networking

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many social media accounts promoting extremist content were recommended for closure by her Department in each of the last 12 months; and what proportion of such content related to Daesh.

Mr John Hayes: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



We have seen an increase in the scale and pace of terrorist communications by groups like ISIL, encouraging vulnerable young people to travel to conflict zones like Syria and Iraq. This Government takes seriously the threat from online terrorist and extremist propaganda, which can directly influence people who are vulnerable to radicalisation.Since 2010 over 140,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed by industry from various online platforms at the request of the dedicated police Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Approximately 55,000 removals were made in 2015 alone. Removal requests are now at over 1,000 a week and approximately 70% of CTIRU’s caseload is Daesh related.We are pressing industry to take a lead in tackling the abuse of their services by terrorist and extremist groups.

Home Office: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.

Karen Bradley: Cleaning services across the Department are outsourced and suppliers currently pay as a minimum the National Minimum Wage. From the 1 April 2016 suppliers will pay as a minimum the National Living Wage for over 25 year olds.

Home Office: Employment Tribunals Service

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley: The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HM Courts & Tribunals Service annual accounts published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf .

Asylum: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Questions 20212, 20253, 20254 and 20256, how many age disputes were (a) raised, (b) resolved when the person was under 18 when first raised and (c) resolved when the person was over 18 when first raised  in each local authority area in each year since 2006.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office publishes quarterly data on the number of Age disputes raised and resolved for asylum applicants, by country of nationality.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501990/asylum3-q4-2015-tabs.odsHistoric data regarding the locations of age disputed asylum applicants cannot be provided at local authority level as to do so would incur disproportionate costs.

Immigration Controls: Criminal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what checks the UK Border Agency makes to determine whether a person who is not a UK citizen has any overseas criminal convictions at the time of their entry into the UK from another EU country.

James Brokenshire: The UK conducts 100% checks on arriving passengers in order to identify people of concern seeking to enter the country. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can – and do - refuse them entry.We use the Second Generation Schengen Information System (SISII) to check whether the individual is wanted for an offence under a European Arrest Warrant. If he or she is, arrangements will be made for the individual to be detained at port, and arrested by the police for surrender to the Member State that has issued the Warrant.In September 2015, we introduced a new requirement for Tier 1 investor and entrepreneur applicants to supply an overseas criminal record certificate for any country they have resided in continuously for 12 months or more, in the last 10 years prior to their application. Failure to provide such a document when required to do so may result in their application being refused.

Refugees: Syria

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a Minister of her Department plans to attend the UNHRC high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

Richard Harrington: I am currently planning to attend the UNHCR high level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

Detainees: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals her Department has made to the children's section of the Refugee Council related to detainees in immigration removal centres who her Department believed to be children in each year since 2009-10.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration: Advisory Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration advisers were registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) in each year since 2009-10; how many complaints the OISC received about immigration advisers registered with them in each of those years; in how many of those complaints the OISC found wrongdoing on the part of the adviser; in how many such cases the OISC (i) took action against the adviser and (ii) referred the complaint; and how many immigration advisers were (A) prohibited and (B) suspended as a result of such action.

James Brokenshire: The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner regulates organisations, which have differing numbers of advisers operating within them. The number of regulated organisations and corresponding number of advisers are set out below. 2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Regulated organisations175318511930197119391670No. of advisers415033463971396639893667The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner operates a complaints scheme in respect of regulated advisers. If a complaint is substantiated then the information obtained can be used to form the basis of a decision to refuse an application for registration or a decision to lay formal disciplinary charges. Information obtained as a result of a substantiated complaint can be used as part of less formal action including providing advice to the adviser or giving a notice to improve. There are no separate figures available for suspension or prohibition as these terms overlap with others within the OISC regulatory scheme. Details of complaints and their outcomes are set out below. 2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15No. of Complaints379291296290268195No. Substantiated7888111155112130Referral for possible prosecution412101022No. of decisions to refuse/lay charges4979701018287

Extradition

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many export extradition requests her Department received from Category 2 territories in each year since 2009-10; how many such requests she certified; how many of those requests were approved by district judges at extradition hearings; and in how many such cases she ordered extradition.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many import extradition requests from Category 2 territories were passed to the International Criminality Unit of the Home Office in each year since 2009-10; how many such requests were authorised by her to be sent to Category 2 territories for hearing in their courts; and in how many of those cases the foreign court ordered extradition.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) import extradition requests her Department received from non-Category 1 and 2 countries and (b) export extradition requests her Department made to non-category 1 and 2 countries in each year since 2009-10; and how many such requests were (i) granted and (ii) refused.

James Brokenshire: “Category 2 territories” refers to countries designated as extradition partners under Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. Not all the information requested is held centrally. The tables below set out the information which is centrally held by the Home Office.Figures for the numbers of people extradited or requests refused in a particular year may include those for whom a request was made in a previous year.  Import extradition requests involving Category 2 territories YearRequests submitted to the Home Office for Category 2 territories Requests sent to Category 2 territoriesNumber of people extradited to the UK2009353526201033331920114949222012323225201323232620143737112015454526

Visas: Overseas Students

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question HL1937, on visas: overseas students, to provide the data by quarter from 2009-10 to quarter 1 2013; and how many Tier 4 applicants did not undergo credibility interviews in each such quarter.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not hold this data in the format requested.

Refugees: EU Action

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contribution she made at the meeting of EU interior ministers on the refugee crisis on 25 February 2016; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: A meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council took place in Brussels on 25 February, which my Rt. Hon Friend the Home Secretary attended on behalf of the UK.It is protocol for a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) to be made in Parliament after each JHA Council, reporting the meeting and setting out the position taken by the UK. In this instance, a WMS will be made in both Houses on Thursday 3 March, which is within the agreed timescale.

Sikhs: Radicalism

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received a document from the Indian government on Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Sikhs: Radicalism

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from Indian intelligence authorities on the subject of Khalistani terror groups and Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Slavery

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding the Government has allocated to the NSPCC's Modern Slavery helpline in financial year (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16; how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed by that helpline; how many calls the helpline has received; and how much funding the Government plans to allocate to the helpline in 2016-17.

Karen Bradley: The NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline was launched in July 2014, as part of a wider awareness-raising campaign, to better support potential victims of modern slavery. For the financial year 2014-15, £35,000 was made available to the NSPCC to run the modern slavery helpline and, in 2015-16, £15,000 was made available.The NSPCC run Modern Slavery helpline does not employ dedicated staff. Instead, training was provided to existing NSPCC call handlers by existing staff in the NSPCC child trafficking advice centre, the Metropolitan Police’s Human Trafficking Unit and the Modern Slavery Unit. For the period 31 July 2014 to 11 February 2016 the helpline received 1,005 contacts.No funding has been allocated for the financial year 2016-17. Polaris, a US-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), is establishing an enhanced UK helpline in collaboration with a UK-based NGO, which will supersede the current NSPCC helpline. The new helpline will provide increased analytical capability and is expected to be in operation later this year.

Domestic Violence

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26579, what financial assistance her Department provided to charities who support women and children who have suffered an instance of domestic abuse in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: The previous Government provided £40 million of stable funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015, equating to £10 million per year and including funding for independent domestic violence advisers, MARAC coordinators and national helplines.This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refugees, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refugees. This funding supports all victims of domestic abuse including those with children.

Home Office: Travel

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hours were logged as lost by officials in her Department due to delayed rail transportation in 2015.

Karen Bradley: We do not hold records centrally on the number of hours logged as lost due to delayed rail transportation across the Home Office.

Marriage Certificates: Mothers

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on the inclusion of mother's names on marriage certificates.

James Brokenshire: There is agreement that the names of both parents should be included in the marriage entry. The Home Office continues to work with all interested parties to consider the most efficient and effective way to achieve this. Doing so is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes. A timetable will be confirmed for changes as soon as there is an opportunity to legislate on this matter.

Schools: Weapons

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of weapons which have been recovered from school premises by the police in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold any record of how many weapons have been recovered from school premises by the police.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Public Expenditure

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the implications are of her Department breaching its Resource Annually Managed expenditure for the funding of other policies in her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: There are no implications for the funding of other policies in my Department as a result of this breach of the Resource Annually Managed Expenditure limit. The Department’s operational expenditure is not included in this category of expenditure. Details of the breach were provided in the Northern Ireland Office Annual Report and Account 2014-15 which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447028/NIO_Accounts_2014-2015.pdf

Northern Ireland Office: Public Expenditure

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the implications are of her Department exceeding its Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit for the funding of other policies in her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: There are no implications for the funding of other policies in my Department as a result of exceeding its Capital Departmental Expenditure limit. The Department’s operational expenditure is not included in this category of expenditure. Details of the breach were provided in the Northern Ireland Office Annual Report and Account 2014-15 which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447028/NIO_Accounts_2014-2015.pdf

Department of Health

Department of Health: Overseas Aid

Wendy Morton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's spending was on Overseas Development Aid in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) the first 10 months of 2015-16; and what the recipient countries of that aid were.

Alistair Burt: In 2013-14 the Department spent £11.66 million on Official Development Assistance. In 2014-15 the Department spent £11.5 million on Official Development Assistance.The Department’s Official Development Assistance in 2013-14 and 2014-15 is a proportion of the Department’s assessed contribution or subscription, to the World Health Organization (WHO). The subscription funds our contribution to all the functions of the WHO. The WHO provides the leadership and co-ordination role in global health for all its 194 member countries. As part of this role it provides technical support and assistance on the ground.WHO is able to use the assessed contribution flexibly to fund its priorities as agreed by the United Kingdom and other member countries. We do not therefore have specific data of individual countries supported through our assessed contribution. However, more specific information on WHO funding flows to regions, individual countries and programmes can be found on WHO’s web portal at: http://extranet.who.int/programmebudget/Biennium2014/Financing The 2015 Official Development Assistance figures have not yet been finalised. The Department for International Development will release the 2015 figures in the National Statistics publication on 1 April 2016.

Surrogate Motherhood

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the proposals contained in the report, Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform, published in November 2015.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform, published in November 2015, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform the law governing surrogacy to better balance the rights of those involved and the welfare of children born via surrogacy.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure children and families created via surrogacy are treated equally.

Jane Ellison: A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that the Department received 22 representations that made direct or indirect reference to the report `Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform' since it was published in November 2015. The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 2 of Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance, published in December 2015, how much of the £8.4 billion real terms increase in NHS funding by 2020-21 is allocated to mental health; whether that figure includes funding for children and young people's mental health announced before the 2015 General Election; and under which of his Department's budget headings that funding has been allocated.

Alistair Burt: Regarding the £8.4 billion real terms increase in funding, NHS England (NHSE) does not stipulate a specific spend level for commissioning bodies, this is to be determined by national policy directives like parity of esteem and specific local needs based assessment. At a commissioning stream level, NHSE has set a principal commitment to achieving mental health parity of esteem. Through its assurance process NHSE will hold individual commissioners to account for increasing spend on mental health in line with their increase in allocations, taking account of the additional mental health funding that has been received.   The difference between the 2015/16 funding for children’s and young people’s mental health in NHSE baseline and subsequent increase in funding over the five-year period from 2016-17 to 2020-21 is included in the £8.4 billion growth in the Mandate. The Department allocates funding to NHS England as set out in the government’s mandate to NHSE and accompanying financial directions. The mandate to NHSE for 2016-17 and accompanying directions are both available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-mandate-2016-to-2017

NHS 111: North West

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training staff in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West who handle NHS 111 calls receive other that the mandatory training covered by the NHS 111 Commissioning Standards.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the local providers and commissioners. The NHS 111 commissioning standards issued in June 2014 state that all staff involved in handling NHS 111 calls must comply with the Licensing Requirements of the Clinical Decision Support Software used (NHS Pathways). Staff must also undertake training on: how to interact with urgent care services; the use of local Directories of Services; NHS Values; delivering excellent customer services; and safeguarding.

NHS 111: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances were called out as a result of NHS 111 calls made in 2015 in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were admitted to hospital as a result of NHS 111 calls made in 2015 in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS 111 calls were made in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015 in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Burnley.

Jane Ellison: The data is not held centrally.

Health Services: Dementia

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the Alzheimer's Society's Fix Dementia Care campaign.

Jane Ellison: NHS England welcomes the campaign and its efforts to highlight areas in the health and care system where there is still room for improvement in the care of people with dementia. NHS England has already undertaken a range of initiatives to encourage hospitals to improve the standards of care provided to people living with dementia as well as their carers but recognises that more needs to be done. Improving the care and support for people with dementia is a priority for this Government. That is why on 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 (PM Challenge 2020) to build on the progress of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015. It sets out the broad vision for dementia care, support, awareness and research to 2020. The Department will soon publish an Implementation Plan which has been co-produced with key partners including the Alzheimer’s Society and sets out the actions partners across health and care will take to ensure commitments in the PM Challenge 2020 are delivered.

Colorectal Cancer

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department is having with NHS England on ensuring patients continuing access established precision treatments for colorectal cancer.

George Freeman: We are not aware of any discussions with NHS England on this matter.

Bury Clinical Commissioning Group

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Bury Clinical Commissioning Group received in grants in the last three years.

Alistair Burt: Data on clinical commissioning group (CCG) grant income is not held centrally. This is a matter for Bury CCG.

Department of Health: Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consultants' contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

Alistair Burt: This Information is not held centrally by the Department.

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Chief Medical Officer's new alcohol consumption guidelines on future levels of heavy alcohol consumption.

Jane Ellison: No assessment has been made of the potential effect of the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines on future levels of heavy alcohol consumption. The guidelines have been developed to provide accurate information and clear advice about alcohol and its health risks to enable people to make informed choices.

Alcoholic Drinks: Consumption

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the national trend in the consumption of alcohol (a) in total, (b) by men and (c) by women since 2005; and what estimate he has made of the number of (i) men and (ii) women who are drinking above the level recommended by Chief Medical Officer alcohol guidelines.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs alcohol factsheet October 2013 provides data on alcohol consumption. The trends on alcohol consumption since 2005 can be found in Section 2 – Clearances, 2.3 Alcohol Clearances per Adult at: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx An estimated 6,746,000 men and 3,549,000 women were drinking above the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officer’s alcohol guidelines prior to the recent revision, using Health and Social Care Information Centre, Health Survey for England 2014 data.

Tobacco: EU Law

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to increase awareness amongst small retailers of EU directive 2014/40/EU, section 14, regulating packet sizes for cigarettes.

Jane Ellison: The Government is developing guidance on the implementation of Article 14 of the revised Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) and is considering how best to raise awareness of the changes.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) availability of meningitis B vaccine stocks across the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Current availability of the Meningococcal B vaccine for the national immunisation programme is adequate with a central buffer of stock being maintained (and monitored) to ensure security of supply. The vaccine continues to be delivered to eligible infants as part of the National Health Service childhood immunisation schedule. However, the manufacturers of Bexsero, GlaxoSmithKline, have confirmed that they have supply constraints for the private market due to unexpected Global demand.

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on A&E attendance, performance and emergency admission statistics for the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: Accident and emergency (A&E) attendances and emergency admissions data, including performance against the A&E waiting time standard (for 95% of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival at A&E) are collected by NHS England and published on their website at the links below. Until June 2015, data were collected on a weekly basis; from June 2015 they are available on a monthly basis.Data for 2013-14 are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2013-14/ Data for 2014-15 are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/weekly-ae-sitreps-2014-15/ Data for April and May 2015 are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/statistical-work-areasae-waiting-times-and-activityweekly-ae-sitreps-2015-16/Data for June 2015 to December 2015 are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/statistical-work-areasae-waiting-times-and-activityae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2015-16-monthly-3/

Mental Health Services: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many graduates have begun the Think Ahead programme in each year since its formation; and how many have been enrolled to start in 2016.

Alistair Burt: Conditional offers have been made for the first cohort of 80-100 participants, who will begin the Think Ahead programme in July 2016.

Medical Equipment

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the NHS of (a) furniture, (b) crutches and (c) other equipment given to people with short-term need was in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: This information is not collected centrally. It is for National Health Service trusts to ensure they make the best use of the resources available to them.

Stem Cells: Research

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much public funding for stem cell research was allocated to the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation in each year since 2003-04.

George Freeman: No funding for stem cell research has been allocated or awarded to the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation from the Department’s research and development budget. A wide range of research relating to stem cell transplantation is funded by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR supports the delivery of translational medicine in this field through its biomedical research centres and units, clinical research facilities, and experimental cancer medicine centres (funded jointly with Cancer Research UK), and later phase trials through its clinical research network. In addition, the NIHR is funding the Blood and Transplant Research Unit in stem cells and immunotherapies. This is a research partnership between University College London and NHS Blood and Transplant.

NHS: Finance

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress his Department has made on the (a) composition and (b) operation of the individual funding requests screening process; and if he will make at statement.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that updated standard operating procedures for NHS England’s management of individual funding requests was published on 26 February 2016 and is available at: www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/policies/gp/ Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for managing their own individual funding requests.

NHS: Resignations

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical staff left the NHS before reaching the pension age.

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical staff left the NHS before reaching the retirement age in 2014-15.

Ben Gummer: The information is not available in the form requested.

Autism

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 29 June 2015 to Question 4049, when he expects the review of the Autism Awareness project to be published.

Alistair Burt: Following an interim evaluation, the Department’s commissioned Autism Awareness project, has now entered its second and final phase. Once this Autism Alliance UK project has been completed, it will be reviewed and a report will be published. This is expected in approximately six months’ time.

Junior Doctors: Working Hours

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the minimum number of hours off-duty is that his Department uses to define a day off for a junior doctor.

Ben Gummer: Neither the current contract nor the new contract define a day off. Both define a minimum rest period between shifts of 11 hours and a minimum break between defined periods of prolonged work of 48 hours. Further minimum rest periods, as set out in the existing Working Time Regulations, will also apply. The new contract will reduce the number of consecutive night shifts after which a 48 hour break must be taken from seven to four, the number of consecutive long day shifts from seven to five, the number of consecutive late evening shifts from 12 to four and the number of consecutive shorter shifts from 12 to eight. The improvements are part of the around 90% of the new contract that was agreed with the British Medical Association and that make the new contract much safer than the current one.

Soft Drinks: Sugar

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Kantar Worldpanel 2014 dataset on sales-weighted average sugar content in soft drinks; and whether he plans to review the Government's voluntary approach to the food and drink industry in relation to calorie reduction in soft drinks.

Jane Ellison: As part of its review to identify possible actions to reduce sugar intakes and inform the Government’s thinking on sugar, Public Health England considered the current evidence on sugar in food and drinks. We are considering this alongside other evidence as we develop our Childhood Obesity Strategy which will be launched in the summer. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including sugar. It will also set out what more can be done by all.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve transparency of (a) spending and (b) outcomes in the NHS on mental health.

Alistair Burt: The report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce acknowledged the need for increased transparency on mental health spending and the quality of care that people receive. We are moving forward the data and transparency agenda and a new dataset for mental health will be published by April this year. NHS England has already set a principal commitment to achieving mental health parity of esteem. Through its assurance process NHS England will hold individual commissioners to account for increasing spend on mental health in line with their increase in allocations, taking account of the mental health funding that has been received. We have welcomed the Taskforce's recommendations for government in the report and will be considering how best to integrate them into our current work programme, as well as new policies as they develop.

Mental Health Task Force

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have read the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce report.

Alistair Burt: We have read the report, which marks a big step towards our ambition of parity of esteem for mental and physical health. We have welcomed the Taskforce's recommendations for government in the report and will be considering how best to integrate them into our current work programme, as well as new policies as they develop.

Nurses: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) number and (b) proportion of GP practice nurses has received training in mental health.

Ben Gummer: The information is not held by the Department.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health social workers have been employed in each year since 2009-10.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of Public Health England's social marketing budget for 2015-16 has been allocated to mental health.

Jane Ellison: Mental health and wellbeing is integrated into many Public Health England campaigns. In 2015-16 an estimated £380,000 has been allocated to the development and promotion of mental health content for 11-16 year olds via the Rise Above campaign. In addition, the Information Service for Parents (ISP) programme delivers information on mental and physical health topics to support parents and parents-to-be. There are a wide range of topics relating to mental health covered including ante-natal and post-natal depression, and the importance of seeking professional help to address mental health issues in both parents and young children. The annual cost of delivering the ISP is £250,000, but we cannot ascribe a precise value to mental health given the breadth of issues it covers.

Smoking

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government plans to take during the present Parliament to reduce the number of people dying as a result of smoking.

Jane Ellison: Smoking continues to be the leading cause of premature deaths in England. This Government has committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan this year to further reduce the prevalence of smoking. The new plan is currently being developed but key priority within the plan will be reducing the impact of smoking on some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Innovate UK: UK Trade and Investment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of co-ordinating the objectives of Innovate UK and UKTI in order to increase exports.

Anna Soubry: Increasing exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Innovate UK work together to co-ordinate activity to promote UK innovation and to help drive the UK's productivity, exports and long-term growth through increasing trade and inward investment in science and innovation. An Innovate UK secondee further augments the activities of both organisations.This work supports UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas. This includes working together on events and entrepreneur missions to promote the UK’s innovative companies on a global scale, identifying export opportunities and securing new markets. Innovate UK funded projects and companies are referred to UKTI trade advisers to help support international planning and exports. To date 250 companies have been referred.

Sunday Trading: Public Consultation

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish in full the responses to Question 3 of the Government's consultation, Devolving Sunday trading rules, published on 5 August 2015, before Report Stage of the Enterprise Bill [Lords].

Anna Soubry: The Government published its response to the consultation on 9 February, in which it sets out its proposals to devolve Sunday trading rules to a local level. The Government has no plans to publish in full the responses at this time.

Sunday Trading

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the implications for his Department's policies on devolving Sunday trading regulations are of the findings of the report from Oxford Economics, Economics impact of deregulating Sunday trading, published in September 2015, on losses in sales for the convenience store sector.

Anna Soubry: In formulating its final proposals, the Government has carefully considered all the evidence submitted during the consultation process.

Sunday Trading: Scotland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Sunday trading devolution on the premium pay of shop workers in Scotland.

Anna Soubry: The levels of premium pay in Scotland will be a result of a range of factors and businesses will ultimately be constrained by the need to hire the quality and quantity of shop workers they need in local markets.

Apprentices

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the number of apprentices at each of the apprenticeship educational levels 2 to 6 whom the Government plans to be part of its target of three million apprentices by 2020.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 24 February 2016



  Apprenticeships are paid jobs and so their availability and level are dependent upon employers offering opportunities and recruiting apprentices. We will continue to support the growth in apprenticeships at all levels to meet our commitment to 3 million new starts in England by 2020. We are committed to expanding Degree Apprenticeships, which combine a high quality degree with an apprenticeship. Higher and Degree Apprenticeships are widening access to the professions, providing the higher level technical skills employers need to improve productivity and giving young people an equally valid career route to purely university-based courses.All Apprenticeship Starts by Level (2014/15 and 2015/16 - Reported to Date) Level2014/152015/16 Full YearAugust to OctoberLevel 2298,28086,620Level 3181,76060,140Level 47,0902,880Level 512,5903,200Level 6100240Total Higher Apprenticeships19,7706,320Total Apprenticeships499,900153,100

English Language: Education

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans his Department has to publish a national strategy for English for speakers of other languages for England.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Home Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government work together to support the policy ambitions of state-funded ESOL: to enable unemployed people on benefits to get the skills they need to get into and stay in work; and to support the integration of long-standing migrant communities and particularly those individuals most at risk of isolation from services and wider society.There are no plans to publish a national strategy. We fund ESOL through the Adult Education Budget, and colleges and training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use this budget to meet the needs of their local communities. It is therefore their responsibility to plan which ESOL courses they deliver locally, within their resources.

Apprentices: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25652, whether people resident in Northern Ireland are able to apply for apprenticeships in England.

Nick Boles: The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) funds apprenticeships training in England. The devolved administrations of Northern Ireland (NI), Wales, and Scotland have their own funding arrangements for apprenticeships. Employers and training providers must not actively recruit learners who live or work outside of England. Residents in NI can apply for English Apprenticeships provided they want to live in, or travel to, England to work and study. The SFA will only apply funding under these circumstances. The SFA will not fund individuals whose main employment or normal place of work is not in England. Skills is a devolved matter to NI and are funded by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) in NI.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the effect of a result in favour of leaving the EU at the EU referendum would be on the UK's membership of the (a) European Economic Area and (b) European Free Trade Area.

Anna Soubry: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.As required by the EU Referendum Act 2015, the Government is committed to producing clear information, ahead of the Referendum, on: the outcome of the renegotiation, rights and obligations in European Union law, the process for leaving and alternatives to membership.The UK is not a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA is an intergovernmental organisation to which Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are parties. If the UK sought to retain membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) along the lines of the Norway model, all EEA members, including Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, would also need to agree.

Manufacturing Industries

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the findings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on page 5 of its report, Engineered in Britain, published in December 2015, if he will take steps to increase the confidence of the public and manufacturers in Government support for the manufacturing sector.

Anna Soubry: The Government is creating a highly competitive business environment that makes the UK an attractive location for new manufacturing investment and drives strong productivity growth and export success. We are securing the place of UK Manufacturers at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is why we have invested £300m over five years in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to support the commercialisation of the innovation and new technologies that will be crucial to UK manufacturing success.

Apprentices: Degrees

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which universities have (a) introduced and (b) committed to introduce degree apprenticeships since September 2015; how many such degree apprenticeships each such university has introduced since September 2015; and in which industries those degree apprenticeships have been in.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



We will not have final numbers until after the academic year in question, however Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data for August to October 2015 (reported to date and rounded to the nearest 10) show that two universities – Sheffield Hallam University and University of Northumbria at Newcastle – have reported Level 6 apprenticeship standards starts. Sheffield Hallam University has 10 Level 6 apprenticeship standards starts in the management and leadership discipline, and University of Northumbria at Newcastle has 20 Level 6 apprenticeship standard starts in the digital industry. A further 19 universities have committed to the introduction of higher and degree apprenticeships since September 2015.

Olympic Games 2012: Sunday Trading

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Government made of the effect on (a) high streets, (b) small businesses and (c) post offices of the temporary changes to Sunday trading laws during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



The Office for National Statistics analysed the impact of the short term Olympic relaxation of the Sunday trading rules and found that it was not possible to make any inference from the data. They found no definite pattern amongst the growth rates of retail sales and noted that other factors, such as the weather and time of year, will have impacted sales.

Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the implementation of the Prime Minister's commitment of April 2015 to utilise the proceeds of the £227 million fine on Deutsche Bank to create a new three-year fund to create 50,000 apprenticeships.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



   This Government will be spending twice as much in cash terms on apprenticeships by 2020 compared to 2010. Spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5bn in 2019-20. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills spending review settlement for apprenticeships reflects the government’s commitment regarding the proceeds of the Libor fine the FCA announced in April 2015. Further announcements that support the Government’s commitment to delivering employment opportunities for young people will be announced in due course.  .

Further Education: Pay

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the heads of further education colleges about the implications for recruitment and retention of college staff of the Government's restrictions on public sector pay increases.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effects on recruitment of further education staff of the Government's restrictions on public sector pay increases.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



Further Education (FE) colleges are independent organisations. Each college determines the terms and conditions of its employees, in accordance with their own circumstances. FE Colleges are therefore not affected by the Government’s restrictions on public sector pay increases.

Working Hours: EU Law

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the working time regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 01 March 2016



The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills keeps the working time regulations under continuous review. We will continue to engage with interested parties to determine the best way forward in this area.

Sunday Trading: Families

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his proposals for the extension of Sunday trading hours has passed the family test.

Anna Soubry: The Government’s Family Test is not a pass or fail measure. The Government has conscientiously considered the impact on families and the evidence on this presented during the consultation. The Government will publish the Impact Assessment, including the Family Test, shortly.

Business: Billing

John Mc Nally: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17357, when in 2016 he plans to introduce the new reporting requirement to report on payment practices and performance.

Anna Soubry: The reporting requirement will come into force later this year. Further information on timings will be published in due course.

UK Trade and Investment: Vince Cable

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times the former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the former hon. Member for Twickenham, held individual meetings with trade envoys in each year between September 2012 and May 2015.

Anna Soubry: It is an established convention that Minsters of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010, when he expects to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access TTIP consolidated texts.

Anna Soubry: The reading room for classified documents, including consolidated texts, relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is not yet open. Members of both Houses will be informed of the process and details of how to access the room shortly, once these have been finalised.

Royal Mail: Shareholders

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people owned shares in Royal Mail at (a) the launch of the share offer and (b) 1 January 2016.

Anna Soubry: At the time of Royal Mail Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2013, approximately 16% of the company was sold to 690,000 individual investors through a retail offer. A further 10% of the company was awarded to the company’s eligible UK employees with approximately 147,000 employees receiving shares. Since the IPO, shareholders who purchased shares through the retail offer have been free to trade their shares. The Government does not hold records of these share dealings. Royal Mail has responsibility for maintaining a register of shareholdings in company. The shares awarded to employees have been held in trust by Royal Mail’s Share Incentive Plan (SIP) to enable the employees to benefit from tax and national insurance advantages. Employees will be able to sell shares from October 2016. Eligible UK employees were also awarded a further 1% of the company’s shares in October 2015 and a further 1% award will be made later this year. These shares will also be held in the Royal Mail SIP for 3 years before they can be sold.

UK Trade and Investment: Visits Abroad

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 27903, which countries were visited in each of the overseas visits referred to in the Answer; and which trade envoy undertook each such visit.

Anna Soubry: The table below outlines which countries were visited, and by which Trade Envoy. YEARTRADE ENVOYCOUNTRY2012Baroness MorrisJordan2013Baroness MorrisPalestine, Kuwait2013Lord RisbyAlgeria2013Baroness ScotlandSouth Africa2013Lord PutnamVietnam, Laos2013Baroness Bonham-CarterMexico x22013Richard GrahamIndonesia2014Baroness Bonham-CarterMexico x22014Richard GrahamIndonesia x22014Mark PriskIceland, Finland, Sweden2014Lord RisbyAlgeria x3, Tunisia2014David HeathNigeria x2, Angola x22014Lord SharmanMorocco x22014Baroness ScotlandSouth Africa x22014Lord HollickKenya, Tanzania,2014Lord JanvrinTurkey x22014Charles HendryKazakhstan x22014Baroness MorrisPalestine x2, Jordan2014Lord KingSaudi Arabia2014Charles HendryAzerbaijan x22015Charles HendryKazakhstan x2, Azerbaijan2015Baroness MorrisKuwait x3, Palestine2015Lord JanvrinTurkey x22015Lord KingSaudi Arabia x32015Baroness NicholsonIraq2015Baroness Bonham-CarterMexico x22015Lord PutnamVietnam x2, Cambodia x2, Laos2015Lord HollickTanzania, Kenya2015Lord RisbyAlgeria2015David HeathAngola, Nigeria2015Baroness ScotlandSouth Africa x22015Richard GrahamIndonesia x3, Singapore, Malaysia2015Mark PriskNorway, Sweden2016Lord RisbyAlgeria2016Lord HollickTanzania, Kenya2016Baroness NorthoverAngola2016Baroness ScotlandSouth Africa2016Jeffrey Donaldson MPEgypt2016Baroness MorrisKuwait2016Lord PutnamVietnam, Cambodia x2, Laos2016Richard GrahamIndonesia, Singapore

Living Wage: Advertising

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 24849, how much of the budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign has been allocated to advertisements on the London Underground.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Adult Education: Public Consultation

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans to publish a response to his Department's consultation, A dual mandate for adult vocational education, which closed in June 2015.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Basic Skills: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to ring-fence funding for adult basic skills within the adult skills budget for 2016-17.

Nick Boles: No. Funding for basic skills is a crucial part of the Adult Education Budget. But a ring-fence means central Government deciding how money should be spent. We prefer to allow colleges and other providers to decide how best to meet the needs of the communities they serve. The interests of learners who lack basic skills are protected by statutory entitlements to free provision in basic English and maths.

Basic Skills: Standards

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Ofsted on assessing the quality of teaching English and mathematics in adult basic skills courses undertaken by (a) further education providers and (b) other providers.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in regular contact with Ofsted both at Ministerial and official level to discuss the performance of further education (FE) colleges and providers. This includes the extent to which teaching, learning and assessment support adult learners to develop their skills in English and maths. Together with Department for Education, we have invested over £30m over the past 3 years to fund a range of measures to improve the further education workforce, with a focus on improving the teaching of English and maths. This has resulted in over 1,000 bursaries to attract graduates to teach in further education and over 3,800 existing FE teachers have benefited from training to improve their capability to teach high quality English and maths courses.

Sector Skills Councils: Apprentices

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will hold discussions with individual sector skills councils on the proportion of the three million new apprenticeships that need to be at level 3 and level 4.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeships are jobs, so employers themselves decide what occupations and levels they employ apprentices in. Employer-led Trailblazers are designing apprenticeship standards at a range of levels to meet the skill needs of their industries. We will continue to encourage the growth of apprenticeships at all levels to meet our commitment to 3 million new starts in England by 2020, including Level 3, Level 4 and Degree Apprenticeships.

Universities: Taxation

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for UK universities of the proposal for a £1,000 a year levy on all businesses employing skilled non-EU staff.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Power: Accidents

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance is issued to households on dealing with a nuclear incident.

Penny Mordaunt: In accordance with the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR) households in the area likely to be affected by a nuclear emergency, are provided with prior information to ensure they are properly informed and prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency occurring.

Defence Assistance Fund

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the Defence Assistance Fund was in 2014-15.

Michael Fallon: The cost of the Defence Assistance Fund in financial year 2014-15 was £15.529 million.

Ministry of Defence: Employment Tribunals Service

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HM Courts and Tribunals Service annual accounts published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf.

Iran: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26667, whether HMS Defender tracked the Iranian UAV that was reported to have flown in close proximity to the USS Harry S Truman; and what reports he has received on other instances of Iranian UAV activity in the Persian Gulf.

Penny Mordaunt: I am withholding information on the operational activity of Royal Navy ships and on what operational reports Ministers receive as their disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Ministry of Defence: Human Rights Act 1998

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost

Navy: Baltic Sea

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role is of the five additional UK Royal Naval vessels situated in the Baltic.

Penny Mordaunt: The Royal Navy routinely allocates vessels to NATO's Standing Maritime Groups and Standing Countermeasures Groups, which are multinational, integrated maritime forces permanently available to NATO to perform tasks ranging from participating in exercises to intervention missions.This year the UK's contribution consists of: three Mine Countermeasures Vessels, on four month deployments in rotation; one Frigate for six months, which is the first to be deployed to this task since 2010; and a Destroyer, from October 2016.

Russia

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the military threat to the UK posed by Russia.

Penny Mordaunt: As noted in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, Russia is mid-way through a programme of major investment to modernise and upgrade its military, including its nuclear forces. Its behaviour will continue to be hard to predict, and, though highly unlikely, we cannot rule out the possibility that it may feel tempted to act aggressively against NATO Allies.

Reserve Forces: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of new recruits to the reserve forces in each of the last 24 months were from BME communities.

Mr Julian Brazier: Information on the intake of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) recruits to the Volunteer Reserves in the 24 months to 31 September 2015 is provided in the attached table.



28941-Intake into the FR2020 VR by Ethnicity
(Excel SpreadSheet, 16.43 KB)

War Widows

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 27234, how many of the 135 women referred to in that Answer became widows after 31 March 1973.

Mark Lancaster: A war widow(er) is the spouse of an ex-Service person whose death in Service, or subsequently, was attributable to injury or illness caused by Service in the Armed Forces before 6 April 2005.Of the 135 women who remarried between 6 April 2005 and 1 April 2015, 110 registered as a war widow from 1 April 1996 onwards and 20 women registered as a war widow prior to 1 April 1996. The Ministry of Defence is unable to determine the registered date for war widows prior to 1996, and therefore cannot confirm whether they were registered before, or after, 31 March 1973.

Ministry of Defence: Senior Civil Servants

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 January 2016, 25.1% of senior civil servants in the Ministry of Defence were women.

NATO

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel have been committed to NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force.

Mr Julian Brazier: The numbers of UK personnel committed to NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VHRJTF), is set out below: YearNumber of Personnel20161,20020173,500-4,000 The UK will be the lead nation for the VHRJTF in 2017. The exact number of UK personnel for 2017 will not be confirmed until the contributions from other NATO members has been finalised.

Frigates: Shipbuilding

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22740, what steps his Department is taking to encourage and facilitate the supply of steel from UK sources for the (a) Type 26 and (b) Type 31 frigate programmes.

Mr Philip Dunne: In the main, Ministry of Defence (MOD) requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. The MOD has issued new policy guidance to ensure, as far as we are able to within EU procurement legislation and the Government's overarching priority of value for money, that we are addressing the barriers that prevent UK steel suppliers from competing on a level playing field with international suppliers. This emphasises the importance of increased pre-market engagement, including industry days and the signalling of future requirements for steel, bringing prime contractors and steel producers together to facilitate supply chain opportunities. I have also written to our main defence contractors to highlight the new policy guidelines and seek their assistance and support in implementing them.No steel suppliers have yet been selected or orders placed for the Type 26 Global Combat Ships or Light General Purpose Frigates. The sourcing of steel for these programmes will take account of the new policy.

Eastern Europe: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in (a) the Baltic states and (b) Poland as part of the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training initiative; and from which units these personnel are drawn.

Penny Mordaunt: In February 2016 the UK became a Lead Nation, alongside Germany and the US, in the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training initiative (TACET). Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force personnel have met Baltic States' and Polish representatives to discuss how to deliver TACET's objectives, and training needs analysis teams will deploy shortly to take the initiative forward. UK training deployments will start from April 2017, and we expect the initiative will be fully operational by the Warsaw Summit this July, but precise numbers to be deployed and their Units have not yet been confirmed.

Ukraine: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in Ukraine; and from which units they are drawn.

Penny Mordaunt: In addition to the three members of the UK Armed Forces permanently based in Ukraine, as at 29 February 2016, there were 53 UK military personnel deployed in Ukraine providing training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The majority of these personnel, 40, are from the 1st Battalion, the Mercian Regiment. The remaining personnel are drawn from a number of different Army units.The number of UK personnel in Ukraine will vary dependent on the specific training, visits and exercises we may be conducting at the time.

NATO

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK's (a) direct and (b) indirect funding was to NATO in each of the last five years.

Mr Julian Brazier: Direct Ministry of Defence (MOD) funding to NATO can be found in the table below. The term "indirect funding" is not one used by the MOD in relation to NATO funding. Financial YearNATO Security Investment ProgrammeMilitary BudgetTotal £ million2010-11£83.225£101.566£184.7912011-12£70.063£104.292£174.3552012-13£45.974£123.408£169.3822013-14£53.287£109.741£163.0282014-15£47.261£82.050£129.311

Tanks

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the operational readiness of UK-based tanks; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: As at February 2016 the Challenger 2 fleet was assessed to meet 100% of the fleet size and deployability requirements as set out in the 2015/16 Army Readiness Order.

Tanks: Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the serviceability and spares situation of the UK-based tank fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank serviceability and spares situation is routinely assessed to identify issues. A recent in-depth assessment was undertaken and additional repair funding allocated to maintain the capability. Furthermore, a Life Extension Programme is currently in the assessment phase.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department uses to determine the level of supplementary funding provided to local authorities as part of the local government finance settlement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The local government finance settlement distributed revenue support grant by looking at the main resources that are available to local councils. The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2016/2017 sets out the basis of this distribution and the results can be found at;https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2016-to-2017..

Ministerial Working Group on Preventing and Tackling Homelessness

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what work the Ministerial Working Group for Homelessness has conducted since its last meeting.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness re-convened on 13 January, bringing together key Departments to coordinate policy across Government to prevent more households becoming homeless. The group will meet again shortly to agree its priorities and future work programme.

Homelessness

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of the powers available to the devolved administrations and local authorities in England to tackle homelessness.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has committed to work with local authorities, homelessness organisations and across government departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more households becoming homeless. We will look to learn from other countries who have innovated in the way they deal with homelessness.

Homelessness

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department's definition is of a homeless person.

Mr Marcus Jones: The legal definition of homelessness is set out in Section 175 of the Housing Act 1996. Broadly speaking, somebody is statutorily homeless if they do not have accommodation that they have a legal right to occupy, which is accessible and physically available to them (and their household) and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to live in. It would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home, for example, if that was likely to lead to violence against them (or a member of their family).

Mayors: North East

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his assessment is of the latest date on which the process of organising an election in May 2017 for a Regional Mayor in the north east of England can begin.

James Wharton: For local elections the last date by which the notice of election must be published is the 25th working day before the day of election.

Mayors: North East

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department's timetable is for the legislative process for election of a Regional Mayor in the north east of England.

James Wharton: Our intention is that secondary legislation to enable the election of a mayor for the North East Combined Authority in May 2017 will be made by November 2016.

Local Government: Pensions

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of legal proceedings against his Department as a result of non-implementation of EU Directive 41/2003 on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision.

Mr Marcus Jones: I am satisfied that the potential risk of successful legal proceedings against the Department in relation to implementation of EU Directive 41/2003 is low, because it has been properly implemented in respect of the local government pension scheme.

Communities and Local Government: Senior Civil Servants

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

Brandon Lewis: 46.3% of senior civil servants in the Department are women. This is higher than the overall proportion of women in the senior civil service.

Council Tax

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 28259, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to people who pay council tax of that tax in (a) Stevenage, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

Mr Marcus Jones: Council tax decisions are a matter for individual local authorities and we have not made estimates of council tax in individual areas for future years.

Communities and Local Government: Greater London

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are based in London.

Brandon Lewis: 97.6% of the Department's senior civil servants are based in London.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by when he expects the review into council tax support schemes to be published.

Mr Marcus Jones: The independent review of Local Council Tax Support schemes is set to complete and be published by the end of March 2016.

Councillors: Disqualification

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the implications for his policies are of the effect of the Localism Act 2011 on the discretion of parish councils and local authorities in disqualifying councillors convicted of child sex offences whose punishment is lower than the three month suspended or custodial sentence threshold for disqualification.

Mr Marcus Jones: Further to my answer to the hon Member on 29 February (PQ28306), our review of the legislation on the disqualification of local authority members, legislation in the Local Government Act 1972, will consider whether the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 have any implications for any new legislative rules on disqualification.

Families: Disadvantaged

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26579, what estimate he has made of the total cost of the Troubled Families Programme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: £448 million was made available for the original Troubled Families Programme, which ran from 2012-2015 and successfully helped over 116,000 families.The programme was expanded and rolled out nationally in April 2015, to support a further 400,000 families by 2020. The programme secured £200 million for 2015/16, the first year of its expansion; it secured a further £720 million at the Spending Review 2015 to run it until 2020.

HM Treasury

Capital Gains Tax

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the maintenance of entrepreneurial relief over the course of this Parliament.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses and entrepreneurs’ relief is an important way of doing this. It is widely used and valued.  The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review to ensure they continue to fulfil their policy objectives. At Autumn Statement 2015, the Chancellor announced that he will consider bringing forward legislation to amend the changes made by Finance Act 2015 to entrepreneurs’ relief, in order to support businesses by ensuring that the relief is available on certain genuine commercial transactions.

Married People: Tax Allowances

Mr David Burrowes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the uptake of the marriage tax allowance is; what steps he is taking to increase uptake of that allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: 400,000 couples have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance. HM Revenue and Customers is continuing to extensively market Marriage Allowance, including through print, radio and billboard advertising. Eligible couples who haven’t already claimed for the tax year 2015/16 will not lose out as they have until 5 April 2020 to do so.

Treasury: UK Membership of EU

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

Mr David Gauke: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Inheritance Tax

Sue Hayman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether death duties apply to mineral estates; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: Mineral rights (or ‘mineral estates’) will generally be owned by the person who owns the surface land, but they can be held separately. Rights in respect of some minerals, such as mineral oil and gas, are held by the Crown, or the Coal Authority in the case of coal deposits.  Where an individual owns mineral rights, the value of them forms part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Welfare Tax Credits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average yearly reduction in a household's tax credit award was when repaying an overpayment from the previous financial year for each financial year since 2006.

Damian Hinds: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Treasury: Complaints

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints about (a) his Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs were received from members of the public by his Department so far in 2015-16.

Mr David Gauke: The latest data on complaints about UK government departments is available on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s website: http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/reports-and-consultations/reports/parliamentary/complaints-about-uk-government-departments-and-agencies,-and-some-uk-public-organisations-2014-15/8  This covers 2014-15. Data for 2015-16 has not yet been published.

Children: Day Care

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish an updated timeline for the delivery of tax-free childcare.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to run a pilot of tax-free childcare before that scheme is launched.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans for eligible parents to be able to open accounts as soon as tax-free childcare is launched.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.61 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of families that will be eligible for tax-free childcare in 2016-17.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.61 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what estimate he has made of the number of families that will sign up for tax-free childcare in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

Damian Hinds: The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months. We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.  Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.  The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

Welfare Tax Credits

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.205 of Budget 2014, HC 1104, when he plans to bring forward draft legislation to implement the increase in the rate of tax credits debt recovery from ongoing awards from 25 per cent to 50 per cent for households with an increase of over £20,000 a year planned for April 2016.

Damian Hinds: The Statutory Instrument implementing this measure is to be laid before Parliament in March.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Redundancy Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27757, whether he plans to take steps to mitigate the potential effect of the public sector exit cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Greg Hands: The public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this will include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Restrictions imposed by the cap can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances for individuals or groups of individuals, subject to Ministerial approval. These circumstances will be set down in guidance and directions alongside the secondary regulations that will give effect to the cap.  The Government can also confirm that the regulations will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.The public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this will include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Restrictions imposed by the cap can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances for individuals or groups of individuals, subject to Ministerial approval. These circumstances will be set down in guidance and directions alongside the secondary regulations that will give effect to the cap.  The Government can also confirm that the regulations will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.

Taxation: Domicil

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully applied for non-domicile tax status in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: The information is not held in the format requested.

Women and Equalities

Disability: Young People

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

Henry Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

Caroline Dinenage: The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

Department for Transport

Cycling: Greater London

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26407, what funding for cycling in London is included within the (a) £925 million of capital funding and (b) £659 million of resource funding paid to Transport for London.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The annual funding grant paid to the Greater London Authority by the Department is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

Large Goods Vehicles: Design

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25199, what steps he is taking to encourage the development and implementation of improved HGV design.

Andrew Jones: We are working with our European counterparts on specifications for safer and more aerodynamic cab designs in HGVs. We will continue to work pro-actively with the European Commission and other EU Member States, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Transport for London and other stakeholders to improve the safety of HGVs. The Department for Transport’s “British Road Safety Statement” published in December 2015 sets out a number of measures to further improve safety of vehicles. The Department plans to consult on sideguard provisions in the second half of 2016 to ensure these important safety devices remain on the vehicle throughout its life. Department for Transport officials have negotiated improved requirements for mirrors on the passenger side of the largest heavy goods vehicles and these will apply from 1 July 2016. Camera monitoring systems will be permitted to replace mirrors from around 1 September 2016, which should further improve driver vision around HGVs. Officials have worked with our European partners to require fitment of technology helping HGVs avoid collisions. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has been gradually rolled out to all new HGVs and the final phase will be implemented on 11 July 2016, when it will become compulsory on certain smaller HGVs below 12 tonnes laden weight. Advanced Emergency Braking Systems were recently made compulsory on new HGVs over 8 tonnes laden weight, and we expect it will become compulsory on goods vehicles between 3.5 and 8 tonnes laden weight from 1 November 2018.

Bus Service Operators Grant

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the relationship between the bus service operators grant and the cost of bus fares.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether the bus service operators grant is used by bus operators to keep fares down.

Andrew Jones: We have been reviewing the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme in recent years with a view to improving its effectiveness in supporting bus services. In their assessment of the impact of any changes in policy associated with the Bus Service Operators’ Grant, departmental economists normally assume operators pass subsidy received on to passengers 50% through lower fares and 50% through increased service levels. Under these assumptions, they estimate that BSOG has the impact of keeping fares 3% lower than they would be in its absence in England outside of London.

Bus Service Operators Grant

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26406, how much is included in the Business Rate Retention Scheme funding stream to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant that were introduced in 2013.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Following the 2013 changes to the Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) system, the Department no longer pays BSOG in respect of bus services in London. Instead, the amount that had previously been paid out under the BSOG scheme (some £90m in 2011/2012) was taken into account in determining the amount of funding received by the Greater London Authority under the Business Rate Retention Scheme introduced in 2013. This money is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.

Bus Services: North of England

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to maintain a strong commercial bus market in northern regions of the UK.

Andrew Jones: The forthcoming Buses Bill will provide local transport authorities, including those in the North, with a range of tools that will enable them to improve their bus services by introducing new franchising powers and stronger partnership arrangements, as well as a step change in the information available to passengers. The Government is also supporting bus services outside London – including in the North – with some £250 million a year of funding through the Bus Service Operators Grant system.

Bus Services

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the effect of bus franchising in the vehicle manufacturing sector.

Andrew Jones: I refer my hon Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole to the answer I gave on 15th February, to Question UIN 26533.

Bus Services

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bus operators have an incentive to invest in new vehicles when franchising is an option open to local authorities.

Andrew Jones: Local transport authorities with access to bus franchising powers will wish to ensure that local operators are aware of their intentions, so that investment decisions can be taken and services continue to be provided in the best interests of passengers. Any authority that chooses to implement franchising will have the ability to specify its requirements of operators as part of any franchise contract. This could include requirements relating to the standards of vehicles to be used by operators.

River Thames: Bridges

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the data used to predict traffic flow at the proposed new Lower Thames Crossing - Option C was generated; and whether that data is publicly available.

Andrew Jones: The traffic modelling carried out to inform the assessment of alternative options has been based on an extensive assessment of travel and road usage patterns. The underlying data was collected through extensive observations and roadside surveys as part of the London Area Transport Surveys in 2001. This data was updated in 2009. A ‘Review of Lower Thames Crossing Options: Model Capability Report’ which was produced in 2013 examined the suitability of the traffic modelling, including the use of the 2009 data, for strategic assessment of the Lower Thames Crossing options, and this report concluded that the overall model performance was suitable for options assessment at this stage. This report is available online at gov.uk. Further detail on the recent modelling for Options A and C is available in Volume 5 of the Scheme Assessment Report which can be viewed on line at the consultation website on the project website via www.lower-thames-crossing.co.uk. It is also available as a hard copy at the public information events and local libraries as a reference document but not to be taken away. Highways England can also send out a copy to anyone who requests it through the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Roads: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) Shropshire Council, (b) Telford and Wrekin Council and (c) Highways England put in place road safety improvements to reduce the number of road deaths and injuries on roads in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford and Wrekin.

Andrew Jones: Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 puts a 'statutory duty' on the local authorities to deliver an appropriate road safety education service and for the provision of a safe local road network. It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”. However, following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities. More widely, from within the record £6.1 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, Shropshire has been allocated £86million and Telford and Wrekin £18million (including indicative allocations from 2018/19 to 2020/21) plus Telford has also been allocated £10.3million from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund. This compares to £79million allocated to Shropshire and £15.6million to Telford and Wrekin covering the period 2010 to 2015. Highways England has made a commitment to review routes in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin over the next five years.Safety improvements are proposed on the A5/B5070 at Gledrid Roundabout in the 2016/17 financial year. Potential safety schemes have also been identified in Shropshire, and in Telford & Wrekin, and these will be considered over the 5-year Roads Investment Strategy. These are detailed below. A483 Maesbury RoadA49/A456 WoofertonA5 Montford Bridge and Shrawardine JunctionsA5/B5009 GobowenA49 Laybys All of these works will be subject to available funding and are not, as yet, programmed for delivery. An A5 corridor study has also been commissioned to identify a long term strategy for addressing the changing needs and function of the A5 trunk road corridor between Chirk and Preston Boats. This study will consider current issues with the existing corridor, summarising the implications of growth and providing a set of highway options to address congestion and safety, for consideration within future financial years.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Data Protection

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safeguards are in place to protect information held by the DVLA on those who use its services.

Andrew Jones: The safeguards that are in place to protect information held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) vary depending on the channel used and sensitivity of the data processed through the service. All the DVLA’s information systems and electronic services are subject to a formal assessment before they are made available to the public. This ensures that there are adequate policies, procedural and technical controls in place to protect the data. Privacy Impact Assessments are also completed to identify and address any privacy risks associated with the service and ensure that personal data is processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Department for Transport: Human Rights Act 1998

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested is not available without disproportionate cost, as separate records for cases based wholly or partially on the Human Rights Act 1998 are not maintained.

Department for Transport: Overtime

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The tables below contain information on the overtime spend by the Department for Transport, including the following agencies, for February 2014 – January 2016:Department for Transport (central)Driver and Vehicle Licensing AgencyDriver and Vehicle Standards AgencyMaritime and Coastguard AgencyVehicle Certification AgencyHighways Agency (February 2014 – March 2015 only. From April 2015 HA became Highways England.) MonthFeb-14Mar-14Apr-14May-14Jun-14Jul-14Overtime spend£1,239,198£1,599,619£927,703£1,280,082£1,268,173£1,261,126MonthAug-14Sep-14Oct-14Nov-14Dec-14Jan-15Overtime spend£1,249,497£1,341,766£1,413,538£1,160,553£1,158,340£1,122,994MonthFeb-15Mar-15Apr-15May-15Jun-15Jul-15Overtime spend£1,247,224£1,664,032£1,395,002£1,339,767£1,290,854£1,403,393MonthAug-15Sep-15Oct-15Nov-15Dec-15Jan-16Overtime spend£888,400£911,069£1,051,989£775,587£357,148£446,784 Both the twelve month periods shown above - February 2014 to January 2015 and February 2015 to January 2016 - show a reduction in overtime spend compared to the first twelve-month period of the Coalition government in 2010/11.

Bus Services: Disability

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it will make it his policy to require bus operators to install audio-visual announcements of bus stops on all public buses.

Andrew Jones: Accessible on-board information helps a wide range of passengers, including those who are visually impaired, to feel comfortable and confident when taking the bus. Traditionally however, systems providing automatic next stop announcements have proven expensive to fit and maintain, meaning that mandating their use would place a disproportionate financial burden on the bus industry. My Department has supported initiatives to develop innovative and low-cost approaches to providing such information, as well as providing Better Bus Area funding for local authority schemes to equip vehicles with audio/visual equipment. Many operators are already recognising the benefits of on-board information for all their customers, and I would encourage others to do the same.

Department for Transport: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The hourly rate of pay for cleaners directly employed by the Department for Transport is £8.94.

Department for Transport: Employment Tribunals Service

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HMCTS annual accounts published at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf.

Department for Transport: Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars his Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport publishes its publications, consultations and circulars on GOV.UK. Details of individual publications published since August 2012 can be found by searching GOV.UK for DfT publications and consultations: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=all&departments%5B%5D=department-for-transport&official_document_status=all&from_date=31%2F07%2F2012&to_date.

Department for Transport: Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many consultants' contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to bring forward legislative proposals to enable the construction of the Eastern Leg of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In November 2015, the Secretary of State for Transport provided an update to Parliament on our progress to deliver HS2. He reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to completing the full Y-shaped network by 2033. The Government will make a decision on the remainder of the Phase Two route, including the Eastern Leg, in autumn 2016, with a view to introducing a third hybrid Bill before the end of this Parliament.

Pupils: Walking

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the walk to school programme on (a) children's health and (b) reducing traffic congestion.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Walk to School programme funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund achieved significant modal shift: in primary schools the number of pupils walking all or part of the way to school increased by 23% and the number being driven all the way decreased by 30%. In secondary schools the number of pupils walking increased by 12%. These new walking journeys, many of which were converted from car, resulted in considerable transport and health benefits.

Pupils: Walking

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the number of children walking to school once the Local Sustainable Transport Fund ends.

Mr Robert Goodwill: My Department has launched a £20 million Sustainable Travel Transition Year Fund revenue competition for 2016/17, which local authorities are invited to bid for. This provides an opportunity to fund initiatives that support children walking to school. Information about bidding can be found on the DfT website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainable-travel-transition-year-revenue-competition-2016-to-2017 From 2017/18 the new Access fund will provide another opportunity for local investment in walking to schools; £500 million of capital funding will be made available for this as part of the Local Growth Fund with a further £60 million of revenue funding to be made available by my Department. This Government has introduced a requirement to set a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, which will be published in 2016.

Walking

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Department of Health to encourage more people to walk.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Since 2013 the Department has worked with the Department of Health (DH) to deliver projects to increase walking levels in Norwich, Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester and Leeds/Bradford through DH funded Walking Cities programme. These projects have now started to achieve a cultural and strategic shift towards more walkable cities which complements the Department’s investment in measures to increase cycling levels through the Cycle Ambition Cities programme. A report and evaluation summary of the interventions in Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford and Norwich reveals that 49% were more likely to choose walking and 47% felt fit and healthy as a result of being involved in the programme. The five Cities in receipt of Walking City funding have highlighted the need for capital funding to deliver infrastructure improvements to make walking safer and easier to support increased walking levels.

Pupils: Walking

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the walk to school programme on the Government's objective to increase the proportion of children aged five to 10 that usually walk to school from 46 per cent in 2013 to 55 per cent in 2025.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Walk to school programme funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund achieved significant modal shift: in primary schools the number of pupils walking all or part of the way to school increased by 23% and the number being driven all the way decreased by 30%. In secondary schools the number of pupils walking increased by 12%. Modal shift data collected from the programme, alongside various other actual and estimated figures, indicated that the project produced over 20 million new walking journeys, and took over 18.5 million car miles off the road network.

Railways: Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of laser pen attacks were recorded on trains in the last five years.

Claire Perry: The following number of incidents of involving laser pens and trains has been recorded over the last 5 years:- 201120122013201420158176466459

Motor Vehicles: Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of laser pen attacks were recorded on road vehicles in the last five years.

Andrew Jones: Highways England do not keep specific records of laser pen attacks. However, their records currently show that one incident involved the use of a laser pen.

Taxis: Vetting

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local authorities do not require Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for taxis and private hire vehicles; and what representations his Department has made to those local authorities to encourage the use of DBS checks for taxis and private hire vehicles.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport does not hold details of the checks that individual local licensing authorities undertake on taxi and private hire vehicle drivers. All taxi and private hire vehicle drivers can be subject to an enhanced criminal record check, which includes a check of the children’s and adults barred lists, through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). In the Department’s Best Practice Guidance for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing and through engagement with licensing authorities, we strongly encourage licensing authorities to carry out an enhanced DBS check on all applicants.

Roads: South West

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the latest estimated costs or final costs are for each of the road projects referred to in the Government's announcement entitled Major Roads Investment in the South West, published on 1 December 2014.

Andrew Jones: The latest cost estimates for road projects in the South West of England included in the Government's Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) for 2015-20 are below: M49 Avonmouth Junction£37.3m - £53.6mA303 Sparkford to Ilchester Dualling£104.6m - £142.2mA358 Taunton to Southfields£351m - £517mM5 Junction 23less than £25m*A30 Chiverton Cross to Carland Cross£100m – £250m*A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down£864m - £1321mA417 Missing Link£250m - £500m *A30 Temple to Higher Carblakescheme cost £56.5m. Highways England contribution = £46.5m.* cost as provided in RIS Investment Plan  Updated range estimates have been prepared for some schemes since the cost categories provided in the RIS in December 2014. As schemes are developed further, they will all have their estimates updated.I note in particular that historic attempts to improve the A303 were shelved by the previous Labour Government; we are determined to finally deliver the connectivity the south west deserves.

Trolleybuses: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects to reach a decision on the Leeds New Generation Transport Trolley Bus scheme.

Claire Perry: We are continuing to make progress towards announcing the decision on the scheme. You will appreciate the issues raised by the case have required very careful consideration. We are however mindful of the importance in resolving the uncertainty for Leeds as soon as possible and we hope to be in a position to announce our conclusions shortly.

Aviation: Noise

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) projects and (b) funding was allocated to the Civil Aviation Authority for research on noise trunks in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 03 March 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The Department for Transport (DfT) funds the Environmental, Research and Consultancy Department of the CAA for work on aviation noise. Over the last 5 financial years the funding provided by the DfT was as follows 2011/12 £725 4602012/13 £760 0872013/14 £694 7122014/15 £613 267£2015/16 £712000k (forecast for year end) Over these 5 years the funding has been used to:provide annual noise contours for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted;Maintain the ANCON noise model which is used to estimate noise exposure;Technical support to DFT’s Aircraft Noise Management Advisory Committee;Evidence to support policy consultations including the night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted;Evidence and support to DfT in negotiating noise and emission standards for aircraft within the International Civil Aviation Organisation;Monitoring relevant research in the field of health and annoyance impacts of aviation noise.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport (DfT) funds the Environmental, Research and Consultancy Department of the CAA for work on aviation noise. Over the last 5 financial years the funding provided by the DfT was as follows 2011/12 £725 4602012/13 £760 0872013/14 £694 7122014/15 £613 267£2015/16 £712000k (forecast for year end) Over these 5 years the funding has been used to:provide annual noise contours for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted;Maintain the ANCON noise model which is used to estimate noise exposure;Technical support to DFT’s Aircraft Noise Management Advisory Committee;Evidence to support policy consultations including the night flying restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted;Evidence and support to DfT in negotiating noise and emission standards for aircraft within the International Civil Aviation Organisation;Monitoring relevant research in the field of health and annoyance impacts of aviation noise.

Driving Tests: Wrexham

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to maintain funding for a Driving Test Centre in Wrexham.

Andrew Jones: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) plans to maintain its funding obligations in relation to Wrexham Driving Test Centre.

Railways: Tickets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many members of staff are currently working in the South East Flexible Ticketing programme's central delivery team from (a) his Department and (b) the Association of Train Operating Companies.

Claire Perry: There are four members of Department for Transport staff seconded to the South East Flexible Ticketing programme's central delivery team and one member of staff from the Association of Train Operating Companies.

Railways: Tickets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department's South East Flexible Ticketing programme's Strategic Business Case was completed; and if he will place a copy of that document in the Library.

Claire Perry: The South East Flexible Ticketing Programme’s Strategic Business Case was approved by the Rail Investment Board on 24th June 2014 and subsequently confirmed by Her Majesty’s Treasury on 22nd July that same year. The release of this document into the public domain could prejudice current policy making so it will not be placed into the Library at this stage.

Railways: Fares

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 27898, whether the Association of Train Operating Companies objected to his Department releasing the average season ticket price.

Claire Perry: The information held by the Department on season tickets sales is derived from the rail industry’s central revenue and ticketing database. The Department is given access to this database for internal use only under licence by the Association of Train Operators (ATOC) who manage the database on behalf of the operators. This licence is subject to a number of conditions which restrict the Department from releasing information that has been derived from the revenue and ticketing data. ATOC’s contact details can be found on their website http://www.atoc.org/contact-us/.

Railways: Tickets

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department's South East Flexible Ticketing Programme Definition Document was last updated; and if he will place a copy of the latest version of that document in the Library.

Claire Perry: The South East Flexible Ticketing Programme Definition Documents were last updated in June 2015. Some of these documents contain commercially sensitive information. The release of the documents could also prejudice current policy making, so they will not be placed into the Library at this stage.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

EU Staff

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work at administrator grade staff level in the General Secretariat of the European Council; and what proportion of the total number of General Secretariat employees they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



The General Secretariat of the Council does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 53 British citizens working at administrator grade level in the General Secretariat of the Council, representing 1.5% of approximately 3500 total staff employed by the General Secretariat in 2015.

EU Staff

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work for the European External Action Service; and what proportion of the total number of employees in that service they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



The European External Action Service (EEAS) has not published statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality since 2013, when a total of 133 British citizens were working for the EEAS. As of April 2015, our records show there were a total of 119 British citizens working for the European External Action Service, representing 4.8% of approximately 2500 total staff (excluding approximately 1000 local agents in Delegations) employed by the EEAS in 2015.

EU Staff

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals work at administrator grade staff level in the European Parliament; and what proportion of the total number of that parliament's employees they represent.

Mr Philip Hammond: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



The European Parliament does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. As of April 2015, our records show there were 144 British citizens working in the European Parliament at administrator grade level, including UK secondees. This represents 2.4% of approximately 6000 total staff employed by the European Parliament in 2015.

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the agreement reached at the February European Council is not amended by the European Parliament after the date of the EU referendum.

Mr David Lidington: The central element of the agreement is an International Law Decision agreed by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the EU and is a binding international treaty. The European Commission has committed to bring forward new legislation where it is needed to implement the UK’s new settlement. These European Commission proposals will be subject to the normal legislative procedures set out in the Treaties. The President and representatives of the major political groups in the European Parliament were consulted on the UK’s new settlement and both Ministers and officials plan furhter contact with MEPs.

Nuclear Disarmament

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make ithis policy to assess the potential merits of the pledge by the Austrian government set out in the report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, A Pledge to Fill the Legal Gap, published in February 2015 for the work of the UN Open Ended Working Group on multilateral disarmament negotiations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK is committed to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in accordance with the goals of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in a way that promotes international stability, and is based on the principle of undiminished security for all. The Austrian pledge to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons runs counter to the step-by-step disarmament process; and it does not take into account the current global security and stability challenges. The UN Disarmament machinery and the Non-Proliferation Treaty provide the right framework for working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Languages

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials of his Department undertook language classes at (a) his Department and (b) post in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer my rt hon. Friend to my answer of 10 February 2016 set out in PQ 25525.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Languages

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) Arabic speakers with an operational level (C1) examination pass and (b) Mandarin Cantonese speakers were employed by his Department in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer my rt hon. Friend to my answer of 10 February 2016 (PQ 25484).

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Languages

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials of his Department had an operational level (C1) examination pass in which languages in (a) 2001 and (b) 2010.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer my right hon. Friend to my answers of 10 February 2016 (PQs 23665 and 25484). We only record current C1 passes, valid for five years after the date of the exam, and therefore do not have pre-2010 data.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many consultants' contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

Mr David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and the question cannot be answered without incurring disproportionate cost.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Employment Tribunals Service

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) legal fees for employment tribunals for the last twelve months, where invoices have so far been received (January 2015 - December 2015), total £46,385.52. The FCO is in the process of recovering £3,000 of this following a Costs Order in our favour.

Israel: Palestinians

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility with international law of the arrest and transfer of children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories to Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the Fourth of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. This includes Article 49, which prohibits deportation of protected persons from the occupied territory and Article 76, providing that protected persons convicted of offenses shall be detained and serve their sentences within the occupied territory. We regularly talk to the Government of Israel with regard to the implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns, including about the treatment of Palestinian children that are arrested and detained in Israeli prisons. We have been clear with Israel that forcible transfer would be a breach of international humanitarian law and would have serious ramifications on Israel’s international standing.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

Mr David Lidington: At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

North Korea: Refugees

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many North Korean refugees have approached the British Embassy or Consulate in China for safe passage or asylum in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Hugo Swire: We do not have any record of refugees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea approaching Our Embassy in Beijing or our Consulates in China to claim safe passage or asylum in the last 10 years.

North Korea: Refugees

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) defections from North Korea and (b) unsuccessful defection attempts from that country in the last four years.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold detailed information on the number of defections from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Information on defections from the DPRK can be obtained from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unificationhttp://eng.unikorea.go.kr/content.do?cmsid=3026

North Korea: Refugees

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to (a) China, (b) Laos, (c) Vietnam and (d) Myanmar on the repatriation of North Korean defectors from those countries to North Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire: We regularly raise the treatment of North Korean refugees in multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council and the Human Rights Council. We raise our concerns around refoulement regularly at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue and through our Embassy in Beijing. In addition, we work directly with the Chinese authorities on a number of projects to counter human trafficking, which seek to protect the most vulnerable from exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence. We made bilateral representations to Laos in 2013 (see written answer HL950) regarding the refoulement of DPRK refuges. We have not made any specific representations to Vietnam or Burma on DPRK refugees, but we continue to maintain a dialogue on human rights issues with these countries.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Overtime

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Commonwealth and Office has paid the following amounts to its UK-based staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months:March 2014£196,203April 2014£222,453May 2014£152,223June 2014£165,017July 2014£225,892August 2014£246,323September 2014£240,939October 2014£466,415November 2014£167,582December 2014£159,043January 2015£159,538February 2015£122,033March 2015£203,532April 2015£178,879May 2015£132,817June 2015£192,890July 2015£189,593August 2015£205,078September 2015£93,259October 2015£216,031November 2015£196,363December 2015£208,858January 2016£113,002February 2016£222,666Staff can only claim overtime when required by management to work more than their conditioned hours. In the majority of cases claims are made after exceptional demands on Foreign Office staff during global crises, such as the Nepal earthquake and terrorist shootings in Tunisia.

Hong Kong: Missing Persons

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24423, what recent reports he has received on the disappearance of Mr Lee Po in Hong Kong; and whether he has had further discussions with (a) the Chinese authorities and (b) the booksellers or their families since that Answer.

Mr Hugo Swire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear in his six monthly report to the House published on 11 February (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015) that ‘our current information indicates that Mr Lee was involuntarily removed to the mainland without any due process under Hong Kong SAR law. This constitutes a serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.’ The Foreign Secretary raised the case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in London on 4 February. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) also raised the case with the Chinese Chairman of the Politics and Law Commission, Meng Jianzhu, on 25 February. The Government continues to call on the Chinese Government for Mr Lee’s immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Lee Po’s family.

Ibrahim Sharif

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahrainian counterpart on the arrest and sentencing of Ebrahim Sharif by that government.

Mr Philip Hammond: We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain. We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain, and call on the Bahraini Government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. I most recently raised the issue of human rights when I met with the Bahraini Foreign Minister on 4 February.

Masaud Jahromi

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bahrainian counterpart on the removal of citizenship and proposed deportation of Professor Masaud Jahromi.

Mr Philip Hammond: We are aware of Professor Masaud Jahromi’s case. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to meets its human rights obligations and honour all conventions to which it is a party – including on citizenship rights. We regularly discuss human rights with the Government of Bahrain - including at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting which was most recently held in November 2015 and most recently, I raised the issue of human rights with my Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 4 February 2016.

Ascension Island: Public Expenditure

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the Ascension Island government's annual financial statements for (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

James Duddridge: The Ascension Island Government's annual financial statements for 2013-14 and 2014-15 can be found at http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/government/finance.

Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Overtime

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Overtime is only payable to staff below the Senior Civil Service and is used as a last resort to help deal with exceptional or seasonal pressures of work. The values for overtime paid in each of the last 24 months are recorded below. MonthOvertime PaidMar-14£ 47,739Apr-14£ 51,400May-14£ 22,598Jun-14£ 33,375Jul-14£ 29,992Aug-14£ 54,954Sep-14£ 26,462Oct-14£ 52,607Nov-14£ 41,797Dec-14£ 46,161Jan-15£ 34,508Feb-15£ 35,047Mar-15£ 49,281Apr-15£ 25,623May-15£ 29,731Jun-15£ 38,273Jul-15£ 38,207Aug-15£ 28,062Sep-15£ 19,252Oct-15£ 33,338Nov-15£ 27,689Dec-15£ 37,385Jan-16£ 13,732Feb-16£ 33,638Total£ 850,851

Department for International Development: Human Rights Act 1998

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil law suits have been brought against her Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

Mr Desmond Swayne: None.

Department for International Development: Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars her Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.

Mr Desmond Swayne: All such materials can be found on the GOV.UK website, in line with our commitment to transparency which saw us ranked second globally in the 2014 Aid Transparency Index.

Armed Conflict: Children

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support children living in conflict zones to access education.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID’s priority areas in education are to improve learning, to reach all children – especially those in fragile states - and to keep girls in school and learning. The UK is one of the biggest bilateral donors to basic education in low income countries. Between 2010 and 2015 DFID supported 11 million children in school across 21 countries, 7.5 million of them in countries considered to be fragile. DFID has again pledged to support 11 million girls and boys with a decent education between 2015 and 2020. In addition, by 2017, our flagship £355 million Girls’ Education Challenge will enable up to 1 million of the world’s most marginalised girls to benefit from an education of sufficient quality to help transform their lives, including in countries such as Somalia and South Sudan.DFID is also supporting initiatives to improve how the international community provides education in emergencies, including conflicts. This includes leadership to establish the ‘No Lost Generation Initiative’ (NLGI) in 2013 to prevent the loss of an entire generation of children to the effects of violence and displacement in the Syria conflict. As part of this support, the UK has allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria. As a result, over 251,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region, allowing them to catch up on lost learning time and perform well in public school examinations. In addition, a key outcome of the recent ‘Supporting Syria and the Region Conference’, held in London on 4 February, is the commitment that, by the end of the 2016/17 school year,1.7 million children – all refugee children and vulnerable children in host communities – will be in quality education with equal access for girls and boys.Ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in May, DFID is also working with partners to improve how education is delivered globally in humanitarian and protracted crises.

Overseas Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she plans to publish the (a) multilateral and (b) bilateral aid review.

Justine Greening: The outcome of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews will be set out this spring.

Overseas Aid

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the cost in cash terms of the UK maintaining Official Development Assistance at 0.7 per cent of gross national income in financial year 2016-17.

Justine Greening: Based on the Office for Budgetary Responsibility’s (OBR) Autumn Statement GNI forecasts, the UK is projected to spend £13.6m on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2016 in order to meet the 0.7 per cent of gross national income commitment.

Developing Countries: Female Genital Mutilation

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to initiatives aimed at preventing female genital mutilation overseas in each year since 2009-10; and which countries were supported through such initiatives in each such year.

Mr Nick Hurd: DFID’s flagship programme to prevent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), ‘Towards ending FGM/C in Africa and Beyond’, is providing up to £35 million in funding to end FGM in 17 high prevalence countries. The programme includes three core components: work with the UN on challenging social norms and working with governments on policy measures, supporting Africa-led campaigns and a research programme to build the evidence base for tackling FGM.The countries covered by this programme are: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Uganda.Where applicable some DFID country offices also have their own bilateral programmes. In Sudan for example DFID’s regional programme is complemented by a country specific programme to support the scale up of initiatives to end FGM across the country.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Curriculum

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the new national curriculum can be taught in primary schools to mixed-age classes.

Nick Gibb: Schools can choose to teach pupils of different year groups together.Maintained schools are required to cover the whole of the programme of study for each national curriculum subject by the time pupils reach the end of the key stage period. In planning how best to teach the curriculum, schools should consider all relevant circumstances, including the needs of their pupils, and make decisions accordingly.The programmes of study for primary English, mathematics and science are set out on a year-by-year basis to provide a guide as to the pace that the material should be taught in these key subjects. The national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge that must be taught, allowing teachers to take greater control over the wider curriculum in schools and how it is taught. Teachers are free to use their professional judgement and take account of local circumstances in deciding how best to organise their classes, including whether it would be suitable to teach mixed age pupils together. The Department has no involvement in these decisions.

Teachers: Training

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many spaces have been set aside on initial teacher training courses for the 2016-17 cohort of the future teaching scholars programme.

Nick Gibb: There will be places available for all Scholars after they successfully complete their undergraduate degree and commence their initial teacher training from the 2019-20 academic year.

Teachers: Training

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which higher education institution providers of initial teacher education have reduced their allocation for PGCE secondary training in (a) history, (b) geography, (c) English and (d) STEM subjects in 2015-16; and what that reduction is as a proportion of that provider's 2014-15 allocations in each case.

Nick Gibb: For the 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years, we operated an allocations system to distribute initial teacher training (ITT) places directly to School Direct lead schools, school-centred initial teacher training providers (SCITTs) and higher education institutions (HEIs). For recent years detailed initial and final allocations data for individual HEIs can be found on GOV.UK:2015/16 GOV.UK links:Initial allocations: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2015-to-2016Final allocations summary: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controlsSummary of final core postgraduate ITT places available to all HEIs in:(a) history = 243;(b) geography = 462;(c) English = 866; and(d) STEM* = 5081)2014/15 GOV.UK links:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-allocations-for-academic-year-2014-to-2015Summary of final core postgraduate places available to all HEIs in:(a) history = 363;(b) geography = 472;(c) English = 867 and(d) STEM* = 5086)*STEM subjects include: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Design & Technology and Computing.

Department for Education: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions a special adviser of her Department has accompanied a Minister on a foreign trip since 1 October 2015; and what the cost of that travel has been.

Nick Gibb: Special advisers have not accompanied any Ministers on an international visit since 1 October 2015.

Teachers: Stoke on Trent

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the supply of newly-qualified mathematics teachers in Stoke-on-Trent.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the national requirements for the number of postgraduate Initial Teacher Training places to meet demand, including mathematics.The 2016/17 version of the TSM, which was used to inform the 2016/17 ITT recruitment process, along with a user guide explaining the methodology in detail, is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

National Baccalaureate Trust

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) senior officials of her Department have had with representatives from the National Baccalaureate Trust since May 2015.

Nick Gibb: I am not aware of any discussions that have taken place with representatives from the National Baccalaureate Trust.The Department recently consulted on the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) asking for views on how schools will manage the challenges associated with implementing the commitment that the EBacc becomes the default position for all mainstream secondary pupils. The consultation closed on 29 January and we received 2,755 responses.

Department for Education: Visits Abroad

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what official foreign visits she has undertaken since 1 October 2015; and what the cost to the public purse was of those visits.

Nick Gibb: Details of the Secretary of State’s international travel, including cost to the public purse, is published on a quarterly basis. International travel that has taken place since October 2015 will be published in due course.

Armed Forces Covenant

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27540, under whose jurisdiction objections citing provisions relating to the Armed Forces Covenant excluding those relating to service premium admission would fall.

Nick Gibb: The School Admissions Code contains a range of statutory provisions relating to school admission arrangements and to the wider admissions process. The code includes provisions to ensure that children of UK service personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for a school place. The role of the Schools Adjudicator is to consider objections about admission arrangements only. Some of the provisions in the code, therefore, do not fall within the adjudicator’s jurisdiction. There is no body which has jurisdiction to consider objections relating to these other provisions, but admission authorities must comply with all the statutory provisions in the code and, where they fail to do so, the Secretary of State has powers under section 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996 to require them to comply.

Children: Mental Illness

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle the level of mental illness among primary and secondary school children.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing. This attainment is best supported if they have good mental health, character and resilience. Schools can play an important role in promoting good mental wellbeing and in responding to issues that arise.To support them in doing this we have funded the PSHE Association to provide guidance and lesson plans which support age-appropriate teaching of mental health issues. We have also revised and updated our counselling guidance for schools to include a section on vulnerable children and what schools may need to do to make counselling accessible to them.The department recently launched activity to identify how to help young people help their friends to talk about mental health issues, including a call for evidence for stakeholders and children and young people. We also announced funding of up to £1.5m for projects to take this forward once the call for evidence is complete, including a new digital innovation fund to develop reliable, engaging and trusted advice online to help them understand both their own, and their friends’ mental health.Schools need support from specialist services locally to ensure that pupils with mental illness get the support they need. That is why the Government is investing an additional £1.4bn in children’s mental health this Parliament. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across the country have worked with partners, including schools and colleges, to produce local transformation plans for children and young people’s mental health services. These should set out what will be done locally to make the best use of the resources available – changing how CAMHS is delivered in response to the challenges set out in the Future in Mind report.In addition we are contributing to a £3m joint pilot with NHS England which is testing how single points of contact in CAMHS and schools can secure effective mental health support to pupils. The pilots are involving over 250 schools in 27 CCG areas through joint training, which supports schools and CAMHS leads to identify specific activity to improve support in their area.

Department for Education: Employment Tribunals Service

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Nick Gibb: The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HMCTS annual accounts published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the performance of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services with regard to the health, wellbeing and performance of young people in schools and colleges.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We want all children to fulfil their full potential. Academic attainment is supported if students have good health and mental wellbeing and when they have access to specialist mental health services where they need it.The government is investing £1.4bn in children’s mental health this Parliament. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) across the country have worked with partners, including schools and colleges, to produce local transformation plans for children and young people’s mental health services. These should set out what will be done locally to make the best use of the resources available – changing how CAMHS is delivered in response to the challenges set out in the Future in Mind report and increasing the focus on preventative activity. NHS England has put the plans through an assurance process before releasing funds and is carrying out an analysis of plans to identify practice that can be shared to inform future planning.In addition we are contributing to a £3m joint pilot with NHS England which is testing how single points of contact in CAMHS and schools can secure effective mental health support to pupils. The pilots are involving over 250 schools in 27 CCG areas through joint training, which supports schools and CAMHS leads to identify specific activity to improve support in their area.

Pupils: Work Experience

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the work experience provision for 14 to 19 year-olds in education.

Nick Boles: It is essential that we ensure young people leave school or college prepared for life in modern Britain. This will be achieved through a range of reforms, including improving the quality of existing qualifications and giving employers greater influence over the content of courses.We ensure schools and colleges have the freedom and autonomy to decide how best to put in place work experience provision for 14-19 year olds. In August 2013 the government reformed the post-16 curriculum and funding system to incentivise education and training providers to offer high quality work experience to young people as part of 16-19 study programmes.Work experience elements of study programmes and traineeships are now inspected and reported on as an integral part of the inspection of provision for 16-19 year olds (and up to age 24 for traineeships) against the Common Inspection Framework for Further Education and Skills 2015.Our focus is on ensuring sufficient support is in place, and we have recently announced new funding for our careers strategy which will include continued funding for The Careers and Enterprise Company to help young people access the best advice and inspiration, for example by building on the national network of enterprise advisers to broker strong local links between schools, colleges and employers.

Social Workers: Graduates

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 14 December 2015, We will not stand by - failing children's services will be taken over, how the Government plans to spend the £100 million to be invested in attracting more high-calibre graduates into social work.

Edward Timpson: This Government is investing in Step Up to Social Work and Frontline, our fast-track graduate entry programmes, to attract future high-calibre graduates into social work. We aim to train over 3,000 new social workers through fast-track schemes over the Spending Review period.The cost for the continuation of the Frontline pilot from April 2016 – end March 2019 is estimated at around £10m.In October 2015, Government issued a tender for a national fast-track social work programme to succeed the Frontline pilot. Funds will be allocated for delivery once the contract is confirmed. Costs will vary according to actual numbers recruited.

Schools: Sports

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on schools providing opportunities for competitive inter-school sport; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the extent of national inter-school sport competitions.

Edward Timpson: We want all children to lead healthy and active lives. Physical Education (PE) is a compulsory subject in all four key stages in the national curriculum for maintained schools. The national curriculum sets the expectation that a high-quality PE curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to engage in competitive sports and activities.The latest figures on children’s participation in sports can be found in the Taking Part 2014/15 Annual Child Report found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447730/Taking_Part_2014_15_Child_Report__Repaired_.pdfThe School Games is the Government's framework for competitive school sport. It is a national programme that aims to motivate and inspire millions of young people to take part in competitive sport, regardless of ability and experience. Designed across four levels, for both primary and secondary pupils, it offers opportunities for young people to compete at school and regional levels with the most talented going on to compete at a national level. Level 2 of the framework is focused on activities for inter-school competitive sport. There are over 20,000 schools taking part in this programme. Further information about the School Games can be found here: https://www.yourschoolgames.com/Through the Primary PE and Sport Premium, the government has also provided over £450m of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve the quality of their PE and sport provision. We have committed to continue this funding until 2020.

Teachers: Veterans

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the progress of the Troops to Teachers scheme.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education continuously assesses the progress of the Troops to Teachers scheme. To date, one cohort has completed their training with a further two cohorts currently in training. In total, 144 teachers have been recruited through the scheme. Recruitment is underway for a further cohort which will begin in September 2016.

Teachers: Overseas Workers

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the effect of teachers leaving the UK to work abroad on the education system.

Nick Gibb: The quality of teachers trained in the UK means that there is considerable demand for them across the globe. Every year a number of teachers choose to leave the UK to work in schools overseas and many are likely to return.Office for National Statistics figures, based on International Passenger Survey data, provide an estimate of the long-term migration of ‘teachers and research professionals’ since 2010 and break down the numbers leaving the UK between British and Non-British citizens. The data is available here: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedom-of-information/what-can-i-request/published-ad-hoc-data/pop/september-2015/index.htmlA 2015 report published by the National Foundation for Educational Research, using data from the Labour Force Surveys, suggests that of those joining the teaching profession 4% had been working outside of the UK compared to 1% leaving to work outside the UK. This suggests that the country is in fact gaining more teachers that we are losing to work overseas.

Social Workers: Graduates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many graduates began the Frontline programme in each year since its establishment; and how many have been enrolled to start in 2016.

Edward Timpson: 104 graduates began the programme in the first cohort (2014), followed by 124 graduates in the second cohort (2015). Enrolment for the third cohort is not yet complete, however Frontline aim to recruit up to 180 participants to start in 2016.

Social Workers: Graduates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities take Frontline participants on placement; and what plans she has to expand the number of local authorities involved in the Frontline programme.

Edward Timpson: 18 local authorities in the London and Greater Manchester regions are taking Frontline participants on placement as part of the 2015 Cohort, these are as follows:BexleyCroydonEalingEnfieldEssexHammersmith & FulhamHarrowKensington & ChelseaKingstonManchesterMertonRichmondSalfordSouthwarkTower HamletsWestminsterWiganWindsor & Maidenhead Frontline will expand to the North East as part of Cohort 2016. As a result, up to 29 local authorities are expected to take Frontline participants on placement; local authorities confirmed so far include:BexleyEalingEnfieldEssexGatesheadHammersmith & FulhamHarrowHartlepoolHaveringHounslowKensington & ChelseaKingstonManchesterMertonNewhamNorth TynesideNorthumberlandOldhamRedcarRichmondRochdaleSouthwarkSunderlandTower HamletsTraffordWestminsterWiganWindsor & Maidenhead

Social Workers: Graduates

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Frontline has any formal partners in the private sector which give participants priority for their entry schemes.

Edward Timpson: Frontline do not have any formal partners in the private sector which give participants priority for their entry scheme.

Social Workers: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage more people to train as children's social workers.

Edward Timpson: Government policy intends to improve the quality of social work and overhaul the system of social worker education to make it more effective.In December 2015, the Prime Minister announced a further package of measures to underpin the Government's commitment to reforming social work and protecting vulnerable children, part of which is a £100m investment during the current parliament for fast-track social work training programmes such as Step Up and Frontline.There were 1875 applications for the 2015 cohort of Frontline, and 4306 applications for 2016 Cohort of Step Up. We aim to train over 3,000 new social workers through fast-track schemes over the Spending Review period.In addition to this commitment to fast-track schemes government invested £695m into mainstream social work training between 2010-15, including social work bursaries and Education Support Grant, which supported generic qualifications for those wishing to enter social work. The 2015/16 funding for social work bursaries and Education Support Grant is £81M. There is no confirmation for the 2016/7 allocation.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Health

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Leader of the House, what his Office's wellness strategy is.

Chris Grayling: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 3 March 2016, to Question UIN 27925.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many BDUK funded (a) ducts and (b) poles are currently being accessed by communications providers other than BT.

Mr Edward Vaizey: BT and other suppliers with funding from BDUK are obliged to provide wholesale access to all new ducts and poles built using public subsidy, in line with the requirements of the BDUK European State aid approval. Communications providers report on the details of the infrastructure they access to local authorities and devolved administrations, who are responsible for managing Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) contracts.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many consultants' contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS has not terminated early any fixed fee consultancy contracts, where a cost might have been incurred, in the said time frame.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: UK Membership of EU

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

Mr Edward Vaizey: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Film and Television: Equality

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the role of international sales agents on diversity in film and television production.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Government is committed to diversity in our film and television industries and encourages broadcasters and production companies to continue to deepen their commitment to diversity. At the same time, the UK is a world leader in international sales of film and television programmes. Revenue from international sales of UK TV and Film was over £2bn in 2014.

World War I: Anniversaries

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the greatest possible engagement by children and young people in the commemoration of the First World War.

David Evennett: Children and Young People are at the centre of our First World War Centenary Commemorations. We want to see young people across the country learning about the war.

BBC: Political Impartiality

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the BBC upholds its obligations under the charter relating to impartiality during the EU referendum campaign.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In June 2015 I wrote to the Chairs of the BBC Trust and Ofcom on this subject. Their replies set out their plans. The Trust has since consulted on and published guidelines for covering the referendum.

Arts: North of England

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to support the Northern Powerhouse through funding for the arts.

Mr Edward Vaizey: This Government will continue to invest in the great towns and cities of the North to support growth and increase engagement in the arts through our capital funding and investment by the Arts Council. We will support innovative exciting arts and culture projects such as the Factory in Manchester and the Great Exhibition which will celebrate the fantastic culture of the North.

Horse Racing: Betting

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on replacing the current horserace betting levy.

David Evennett: Our aim is to introduce new funding arrangements for British racing by April 2017. We will create a level playing field for British based and offshore gambling operators, and ensure a fair return from all bookmakers to racing, which has been lost simply because of the shift to remote offshore betting. Racing will be responsible for making decisions on spending the new fund. We will make a further announcement shortly.

Digital Broadcasting: Scots Gaelic Language

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scottish sport of changes to the funding of BBC Alba.

Mr Edward Vaizey: It is a matter for MG Alba how it distributes funding across it services. The previous government provided two one-off grants to MG ALBA, which we understand was put into developing the drama series Bannan.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will introduce post-mortem TB testing of badgers culled as part of the Government's bovine TB strategy.

George Eustice: Badgers culled under licence have not been routinely tested for tuberculosis (TB), since previous testing between 1998 and 2005 via the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) and Road Traffic Accident surveys provided evidence of the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high incidence of TB in cattle. TB was found in around one third of all badgers in these areas.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Somerset

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27250, what assessment has she made of the reasons for the 34 per cent increase in the number of TB restricted herds in Somerset in the year to November 2015.

George Eustice: It is not possible to be precise about the reasons for changes in the number of TB restricted herds in any county of England. This will be due to a multitude of factors, including increases in the amount and sensitivity of TB testing. Short term changes should be considered in the context of long term trends.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her Written Ministerial Statement of 17 December 2015 HCWS 409, what budget she has allocated for her Department's badger cull policy in 2016; and what estimate has she made of policing costs associated with badger culls in 2016.

George Eustice: Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now. The Government is delivering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. This includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity, and badger control in areas where TB is rife. We expect the costs to government per area to decrease in line with the estimates contained in Table 4 of the Badger Control Policy: Value for Money Analysis published in December 2015:www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-badger-control-policy-value-for-money-analysis. The industry-led culls are funded by farmers. The Department’s budget allocation for supporting the 2016 culls has not yet been finalised. It is not possible to estimate policing costs associated with badger control operations for 2016 at this stage. However, policing costs per cull area have decreased every year since 2013

Bovine Tuberculosis

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27251, what estimate she has made of the cost of testing badgers in cull areas; and when she expects to make a decision on testing to assess the impact of the Government's policy.

George Eustice: Costed options for cost effective surveillance for TB in badgers are being prepared

Agriculture

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the UK remaining in the EU on the farming industry.

George Eustice: Defra has not made any assessment of the UK remaining in the EU on the farming industry.

Agriculture

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the UK farming industry.

George Eustice: Defra has not made any assessment of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the UK farming industry.

Dogs: Tagging

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of the impending legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped.

George Eustice: The Department has been working with key stakeholders to increase awareness of the need for owners to get their dogs microchipped. This work has included the offer by Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Blue Cross of free microchipping, and the launch of the ChipMyDog Facebook page and has helped contribute to the rise in the percentage of dogs microchipped from around 58% in 2013 to an estimated 83% today. We will continue to work with stakeholders to get this message out to dog owners and prospective owners.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Sellafield: Conditions of Employment

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what changes have been proposed to the existing terms and conditions of the Sellafield workforce under the workforce reform initiative.

Andrea Leadsom: The Sellafield Change Programme is being put into place to improve business performance and provide greater value for the public purse while maintaining the priority of safe and secure operations. In relation to terms and conditions of employment, there are two improvements being proposed by Sellafield Ltd: first, changes to the pay and grading structure of existing staff, to ensure that pay and grading is fair and equitable; and second, new terms for new starters that are more closely aligned to market practice. In both cases the business has and will continue to engage with its employees and their representatives on the proposed changes. Details of the change programme are available at: http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the deployment of ultra-super critical coal fired power stations similar to those planned by China and Germany; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: I have made no such assessment. Any new coal plant must demonstrate carbon capture and storage on at least 300 MW of its proposed generating capacity and comply with the Emissions Performance Standard. Coal fired power stations without abatement are not consistent with meeting our decarbonisation objectives. This is why the Government has committed to consulting on phasing out unabated coal by 2025 and to restricting the amount of coal generation in 2023.

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Lobbying

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many organisations in receipt of grant funding awarded by her Department were found to have engaged in activity that influenced or attempted to influence Parliament, government, or the European Commission, or were found to have attempted to influence legislative or regulatory action in each of the last three years.

Andrea Leadsom: In line with government policy, DECC is introducing the new anti-lobbying clause mandated by the Cabinet Office. DECC has previously included a prohibition on use of the grant for activities of a political or exclusively religious nature, and DECC is not aware of any breaches of this condition, although no investigation has been carried out. Most DECC grants are awarded to cover specified costs incurred by the grant recipient in undertaking a particular project and are paid to reimburse those costs on receipt of satisfactory evidence that the relevant costs have been incurred.

Tidal Power

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the relative costs of tidal lagoon projects compared to other forms of tidal power technology.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government’s extensive Severn Tidal Power feasibility study and the recent work as part of the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon Contract for Difference negotiations show that costs for tidal lagoons may be broadly comparable to other tidal range technologies. However, the detailed relative costs of projects will be dependent on their geographical location, individual design and financing models. We have not made any comparative assessment of costs with tidal stream technologies, which are at a very early stage of development and have a highly different asset-life to tidal range.

Tidal Power

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans her Department has to consider the potential of other tidal energy technologies as part of its review of tidal lagoon technology.

Andrea Leadsom: The independent review, which Government announced on 10 February, will focus exclusively on tidal lagoons. It will not extend to other forms of tidal technology such as barrages or tidal stream arrays.In October 2010, the Department published the results of the Severn Tidal Power: Feasibility Study. The review concluded it did not see a strategic case for public investment in a tidal barrage in the Severn estuary, but the outcome of the feasibility study did not preclude a privately financed scheme. This conclusion still stands Tidal stream technologies operate on a fundamentally different basis to tidal lagoons. It would not, therefore be appropriate to include them within the scope of the review.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what total annual payments were made for renewable heat under the renewable heat incentive (RHI) in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15 and (d) 2015-16 to date; and how such payments compared to the RHI budget estimates for each such year.

Andrea Leadsom: Figures for payments made under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) are published in our annual accounts, which are available through DECC’s website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/decc-annual-reports-and-accounts. Available figures for the years requested are attached. Payment figures for 2015/16 are not available yet; but we will publish these in our 2015/16 accounts, which we expect to publish in July this year. The budget figure for 2015/16 is £430m.



Figures for payments made under the RHI
(PDF Document, 207.51 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, from which prisons prisoners have been released on temporary licence in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 September 2015.The correct answer should have been:

I attach a list of each of the prisons from which prisoners have been released on temporary licence (ROTL) in the last 5 years.Eligibility for ROTL primarily depends upon the assessment of the prisoner in question rather than the classification of the establishment in which they are currently detained. So, whilst a Category A prisoner cannot have ROTL and Category B prisoners can take it only in exceptional circumstances, lower category prisoners who are eligible to be considered for ROTL are held in category B and in some category A prisons. The key test is whether the prisoner in question is eligible to be considered, has a legitimate purpose for temporary releases linked to the sentence plan, and passes the rigorous risk assessment required.Since 2013 when the process was revised there has been a 39% drop in the number of temporary release failures. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002, and the absconding rate has reached record lows under this and the Coalition government.



temporary licence releases  Jan 2011 - March 2015
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.26 KB)

Andrew Selous: I attach a list of each of the prisons from which prisoners have been released on temporary licence (ROTL) in the last 5 years.Eligibility for ROTL primarily depends upon the assessment of the prisoner in question rather than the classification of the establishment in which they are currently detained. So, whilst a Category A prisoner cannot have ROTL and Category B prisoners can take it only in exceptional circumstances, lower category prisoners who are eligible to be considered for ROTL are held in category B and in some category A prisons. The key test is whether the prisoner in question is eligible to be considered, has a legitimate purpose for temporary releases linked to the sentence plan, and passes the rigorous risk assessment required.Since 2013 when the process was revised there has been a 39% drop in the number of temporary release failures. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002, and the absconding rate has reached record lows under this and the Coalition government.



temporary licence releases  Jan 2011 - March 2015
(Excel SpreadSheet, 12.26 KB)

Medway Secure Training Centre: G4S

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times G4S has been in breach of its contract at Medway STC since it was awarded that contract; for what reasons each such breach occurred; and what fines were incurred by G4S for each of these breaches.

Andrew Selous: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 09 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Since the contract was awarded in 1997, there have been two instances of financial remedies on G4S’s contract at Medway STC, both for failure to comply with procedures. The financial penalties were for a total of £1221.87.707.40. We are examining whether the allegations made by Panorama would constitute a breach of contract.

Andrew Selous: Since the contract was awarded in 1997, there have been two instances of financial remedies on G4S’s contract at Medway STC, both for failure to comply with procedures. The financial penalties were for a total of £1221.87.707.40. We are examining whether the allegations made by Panorama would constitute a breach of contract.

Young Offenders: Fractures

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which custodial institutions and on what dates a child has sustained a fracture or broken bone in an incident involving (a) physical restraint by staff and (b) an assault by other children in the last five years.

Andrew Selous: As the Justice Secretary said last month, the safety and welfare of all those in custody is vital.Although youth crime is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young people in custody is not good enough. Restraint should only be used as a last resort, when young people are putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.In 2012, we introduced the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR). Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons has welcomed the significant improvements that MMPR has brought.The number of minor and serious injuries requiring medical treatment resulting from RPIs is published in Chapter 8 of the Youth Justice Annual Statistics :http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-annual-statistics-2014-to2015We are investigating the accuracy of all restraint injury data from Medway Secure Training Centre.The table below provides the dates and custodial institutions where these injuries resulted in fractures or broken bones from March 2013. Before the roll out of MMPR across Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions and prior to March 2013, this information was not collected centrally. DatesCustodial Institutions14/03/2014Rainsbrook STC05/03/2015Wetherby YOI10/09/2015Wetherby YOI *The above information was collected by Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint (MMPR) National team (NOMS)*The information presented relates to MMPR serious injuries and warning signs incidents* This information was provided on 25 January 2016.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time between application to initial decision was for awards issued by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Mike Penning: The average time taken for CICA to reach an initial decision in the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 were as follows. Note that this time includes cases where no compensation was payable within the terms of the Scheme. Comparable data going back to financial year 2010-11 is included. 2010-117.2 months2011-127.8 months2012-138.8 months2013-1410.4 months2014-1510.9 months The average time taken for CICA to reach an initial decision where compensation was offered, during the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 were as follows. Comparable data for the average time taken to make a decision where a monetary award was offered is not held.2013-1414 months2014-1516 months In the last year, CICA have focused on clearing the older cases from its caseload, which has allowed CICA to reduce the proportion of cases which are more than two years old. However, this has contributed to longer average clearance times.

Probate: Fees and Charges

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with (a) members of the public and (b) law professionals on proposed changes to the system of probate fees charged to activate a will.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government published a consultation on proposals to reform fees for applications for a grant of probate on 18 February. The consultation will run for six weeks, closing on 1 April. It is open to all members of the public, law professionals or other persons to respond.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Question 18949, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 7 December 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: I can confirm that the answer to PQ 18949 was given on the 29th February 2016.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 3.103 of the Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015, what discussions he has had with the judiciary on the potential effect of removing legal costs by transferring personal injury claims of up to £5,000 to the small claims court; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: Discussions relating to the new reforms have been held with the judiciary. The Government continues to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including the judiciary, in taking this work forward and will consult on the detail in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

Ministry of Justice: Senior Civil Servants

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

Mike Penning: The percentage of senior civil servants broken down by gender is reported on an annual basis within the Department’s Diversity report. The published report for 2014/2015 can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-report-2014-to-2015

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Health

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his Department's wellness strategy is.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly; all staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, mainly the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers. As staff stay on the terms and conditions of their parent employers, the wellness strategy that would normally apply would be that of the parent body. Both the Ministry of Justice and Scottish Government have wellness strategies to support their staff. Through these strategies, the staff that are based at the Scotland Office in either London or Edinburgh have access to health facilities, mental health support, and employee assistance programmes.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Cleaning Services

Catherine West: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Matthew Hancock: The pay range for directly employed London cleaning staff is £19,988 - £24,430 per annum.The rates of pay for cleaning staff employed by our Facilities Management contractors around the country range from £6.70 per hour to £7.62 per hour, depending on the contract.The pay of contracted cleaners will increase to the National Living Wage when that is introduced in April. As the living wage increases the minimum paid to cleaners will also increase.

Lobbying

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has received outlining concerns related to his Department's new anti-lobbying policy.

Matthew Hancock: The few representations received about implementation of the new clause in Government grants have given us the opportunity to explain that the clause does not stop grant recipients from lobbying, but prevents them from spending government grant funded by taxpayers given for a different purpose on lobbying.

Cabinet Office: Health

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's wellness strategy is.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street's wellness strategy is.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.

Senior Civil Servants: Greater London

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of Senior Civil Servants were based in London in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



The proportion of Senior Civil Servants based in London from 2010 to 2015 is set out below:1st April 201065.1%1st April 201165.0%1st April 201265.5%1st April 201363.9%1st April 201465.4%1st April 201567.0%

UK Membership of EU: Referendums

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many special advisers from which departments have notified the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary that they will be campaigning outside office hours for the UK to leave the EU.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 29 February 2016



I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 29 February 2016, UIN 28380.

Public Sector: Personation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the scale of fraud carried out against the public sector by (a) individuals and (b) serious and organised criminals by means of (i) identity theft and (ii) creation of fake identities.

Matthew Hancock: We do not have any estimates on the scale of public fraud carried out by individuals or by serious and organised criminals in relation to identity theft or the creation of fake identities.In the financial year 2014/15, £4.13m worth of detected external identity theft was reported to the Cabinet Office through the fraud and error MI collection. Identity theft includes: fraudulently obtained genuine documents; counterfeit documents; and, forged documents. We do not have a breakdown of whether this was committed by individuals or organised criminals.The National Crime Agency, not the Cabinet Office, lead on matters related to serious and organised crime.

Liver Diseases: Death

John Glen: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died from liver disease in (a) England and (b) each parliamentary constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



Excel Attachment for Member
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.36 KB)




UKSA Letter to Member - Death from Liver Disease
(PDF Document, 65.88 KB)

Proof of Identity: Internet

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has been made of uptake of the gov.uk Verify programme for each socioeconomic group.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) individuals and (b) businesses are registered for the gov.uk Verify programme; and what the average number of authentications is for each such group interacting with Verify supported services.

Matthew Hancock: 442,000 individuals’ identities have been verified on GOV.UK Verify and the service has been used 1,100,000 times. GOV.UK Verify is not designed for businesses.The current percentage coverage for GOV.UK Verify, based on a representative sample by demographic group, is available here: https://identityassurance.blog.gov.uk/2016/01/25/estimating-what-proportion-of-the-public-will-be-able-to-use-gov-uk-verify/GOV.UK Verify publishes information about its performance - including authentications - weekly on the performance platform:https://www.gov.uk/performance/govuk-verify.

Public Sector: Oldham

Jim McMahon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 5 and 16 February 2016 to Questions 25342 and 26658, by when he expects the land and property for disposals to be identified; and whether he expects the decisions on the selection of that property to be subject to public consultation.

Matthew Hancock: The land and property for disposals will be identified in due course.

Research: Finance

Peter Kyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on organisations commissioning academic research of his Department's proposed regulations that would prevent recipients of government grant funding for research in using that work to call for government policy changes.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Lobbying

Patrick Grady: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his oral contribution of 25 February 2016, Official Report, column 486, when he plans to bring proposals for an anti-lobbying clause in Government grant agreements to the House for debate.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Graduates: Recruitment

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Prime Minister's comments on equality in the Guardian newspaper on 26 October 2015, how many graduate employers the Government approached to ask them to pledge to anonymise job applications; how many such requests were (a) accepted and (b) rejected; and which graduate employers (i) accepted and (ii) rejected those offers.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Broadcasting Programmes

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what the Commission's policy is on the use of House broadcast footage in programmes of a satirical nature.

Tom Brake: Members decided not to allow televised coverage of the House for satirical purposes as part of the broadcasting arrangements which came into place in 1989. This followed recommendations made by the Select Committee on Televising of Proceedings of the House (First Report 1988–89, HC 141-I, para 50).